The North Texan, Volume 38, Number 3, Summer 1988 Page: 4

                                
Rogers reconstructs record about newsman Bill Moyers

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. James L. Rogers of the journalism
faculty constructed this article from conversations that were
held with-and about-Bill Moyers. C.E. Shuford died in 1986.
Moyers received an honorary doctorate May 14 during the
last commencement ever to be held at North Texas State
University. The name changed to University of North Texas
on May 15.
By Dr. James L. Rogers
It is spring of 1952. High school graduation nears,
and 17-year-old Billy Don Moyers looks toward Denton
and his big brother's alma mater, North Texas State
College.
He has left his job at the A&P grocery to work part
time for his hometown daily, the Marshall News Mes-
senger.
INTERVIEWER: What do you think of your kid
brother?
JAMES MOYERS, News Messenger reporter: I'm
sending him to Denton with a letter of introduction to
Poppa Shuford. Here's what I've written:
I have asked him to be sure and look you up to discuss
ways and means of his enrolling in your department. ...I
realize I am most prejudiced when it comes to discussing
Bill's flair for writing. My opinion is shared, however,
by others of the Messenger staff, including Publisher
Millard Cope, who says Bill has more executive ability
at his age than any youngster he has ever seen. ...I
sincerely believe he will be an outstanding student at
NTSC. ...I.firmly believe Bill ought to be able to edit
The Chat by his junior or senior year, and I would like
to see him work toward that end. ...Too, I believe NTSC
will offer Bill the most well-rounded journalism edu-
cation in the state. The reputation of the department
seems to grow even better each day, and I shall always
be proud that I hold my degree from the school. Some
day I hope it will be North Texas University.
INTERVIEWER: Bill, what do you do at the paper?
MOYERS: Here are a few of my stories. You will
note that sports stories predominate. I do not plan to be
a sportswriter, but have been writing all the sports for
the paper since last January, covering the games at night
and doing the stories in the morning before school. That
left me the afternoons to do research and other sports
stories.
Example: "HUGHES SPRINGS-Twenty-one-year
old Robert L. McEntire smiles when you speak of his
folks, home or playing football.
"But mention Korea and his face tightens, his smile
fades and his eyes get a far-away look in them. ...Then
you get the story, no punches pulled."
INTERVIEWER: What do you think of him, Poppa
Shuford?
C.E. SHUFORD, NTSC JOURNALISM DI-
RECTOR: Looks to me as if we are drawing a journalism
student who's already a professional before he comes
up here for schooling. We are expecting great things from
him while on this campus.
INTERVIEWER: So what did he do here?
SHUFORD: In two years here, Bill served as presi-
dent of both his freshman and sophomore classes, presi-
dent of the Press Club, vice president of Phi Eta Sigma
honor society, chairman of the campus United Fund
drive, and a member of the Faculty-Student Relations

Council, the Student Senate, the President's Cabinet and
the Baptist Student Center Freshman Council. He was
named outstanding freshman in 1953 and outstanding
sophomore in 1954, outstanding campus reporter in 1952-
53 and outstanding Air Force ROTC cadet in 1954.
INTERVIEWER: Bill Moyers worked for you in his
sophomore year, Jim Rogers. What do you recall of
him?
JIM ROGERS, NTSC NEWS SERVICE DI-
RECTOR: On my first day on the job in 1953, I walked
into the office and introduced myself to this young kid
at the old Smith-Corona typewriter. He responded en-
thusiastically:
"Hi, Jim. I'm sure glad you're here. We need you to
help get all this work done!"
His main job is to write publicity releases about the
football team and work on statistics and play-by-play
typing in the press box. But he pitches in willingly on
any job.
INTERVIEWER: Did Bill show any interest in politics
as a student?
ROGERS: In addition to being an office-holder in
just about any group he came in contact with, he also
helped politician friends. If my memory works properly,
I can recall him as a campaign manager for a good Baptist
friend, Bill Pinson. (Both became Baptist ministers; both
later received Distinguished Alumnus Citations from NT).
And one time Moyers defended a USNT (student
government) candidate who was disqualified because of
an ad in the Campus Chat, which was distributed in the
Union, "illegally close to the polling place." Moyers
lost the case but made a big point.
INTERVIEWER: What principle is involved, Mr.
Moyers?
MOYERS: The press has learned the hard way what
it never should have forgotten: Independence is still the
first priority for journalists. ...We must, when neces-
sary, resist popular feelings as strenuously as we hold
fast against an official policy which we believe to be
wrong, silly, or dangerous.
INTERVIEWER: Bill went to Washington as a sum-
mer aide to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954. Tell
us about that.
SHUFORD: Bill wrote to me:
The editorial class came in quite handy; one of my
first assignments for Johnson was to write 20 pro-Johnson
editorials for use by Texas newspapers. The editorials I
wrote for the senator received excellent play, as have
various feature stories I have done up here.
INTERVIEWER: How did working for Senator
Johnson influence Bill?
SHUFORD: Bill wrote me in July:
This is a somewhat difficult letter to write. I have
decided to transfer to Texas this fall, not because of the
school, but only because of the job that Senator Johnson
has offered me with either his television station in Austin
or the public relations firm with which he is connected
there.
Both are excellent opportunities.
Not only will they provide me the chance for invaluable
experience and contacts, but they will give me the
opportunity to get married sometime soon.

INTERVIEWER: How did you feel about the change,
Bill?                                     4
MOYERS: I wrote to Poppa Shuford:
I want you to know that I understand NTSC has the
better journalism department in my opinion. I will always
believe that; yet, I cannot pass up the opportunity that
Senator Johnson has made me. He and I have hit it off
quite well, and I want to keep it that way. It is going to
be extremely difficult for me to leave the Eagle's Roost,
extremely difficult. All my friends are there; I have sunk
my roots deep; the things I know and like are there.
INTERVIEWER: Bill graduated from UT, studied
at the University of Edinburgh, graduated from the
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. But the Peace
Corps called and he became its deputy director. What
happened next?
ROGERS: In 1963 Moyers was in Austin the day
President Kennedy died, but flew to Dallas in a chartered
plane to attend Johnson's swearing in aboard Air Force
One at Love Field. We watched as the television cameras
showed President Johnson stride into the White House
that evening with Bill Moyers at his side.
He served as special assistant to the Pesident, as
coordinator of the White House staff, then as press
secretary to the President.
SHUFORD: We were very proud of Bill and watched
with deepest interest the magazine and newspaper attention
which was paid to him as one of the "brightest young
men" in the Johnson administration. It was quite a thrill
to run into a picture of him sitting in on a Cabinet meeting.
INTERVIEWER: What about your relationship with
Poppa Shuford? And with others at North Texas?
MOYERS: He wrote to congratulate me when I was
publisher of Newsday on Long Island and we won two
Pulitzer prizes in 1970. My response was to thank him
and write: "You must know that part of the credit belongs
to you."
The two years I spent at North Texas were the most
special of my formative journalism career. I do not forget
the helpful, caring guidance of adults who were  -er
too busy to take a kindly view toward a hus    ,
ambitious, naive young man who knew very clearly he
wanted to be a journalist and was nudged, encouraged,
caressed, guided and inspired by people who genuinely
did care.
INTERVIEWER: And how does the NT journalism
department regard its most famous non-graduate?
ROGERS: That's easy to answer. The department
named him as the first member of the C.E. Shuford
Hall of Honor in 1982. That's our way of saying, "You're
number one!"
Above all, we regard him as a professional.model for
the print and broadcast journalist. We have good evidence
for this in his work and in his awards:
* Three Emmy Awards, including one as the out-
standing television news broadcaster for the year.
* The Ralph Lowell Award for extraordinary contri-
butions to public television.
* The American Bar Association Certificate of Merit.
* The Christopher award.
* The National Conference of Christians and Jews
Mass Media Award.
* The George Foster Peabody Award for conspicuous
service in broadcasting.
* And, of course, the Pulitzer Prizes won by Newsday
while he was publisher.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Moyers, as we might refer to
you now that you have finally received a degree from
North Texas, what should our journalism students hold
as ideals for their profession?
MOYERS: Editors exercise great power in deciding
what will be printed and where it will be played, and
sometimes our judgment fails our responsibility. But the
cure for such fallibility lies not in turning over our
responsibility to someone else, say to a committee of
politicians. It lies in the endless striving for honesty,
sharp professional judgment and self-examination.
For my money, the press must reflect what have been
the distinguishing characteristics about America: no 'r
and prejudice, not blind obedience to political 14  S
nor hatred for institutions, but rather independe and
freedom, and a commitment to reform in order to
conserve.
University of North Texas