As a magnet for the public eye and the champion of numerous performance awards, Bill Moyers is more likely to be associated with a Hollywood starlet than a retired news journalist.

Delving into the life of the 70-year-old broadcast veteran, though, reveals his character rsum exceeds that of most stage players – including his days as a Baptist minister, Peace Corps director and presidential adviser.

Recently known as the television host of ‘NOW with Bill Moyers’ on PBS, Moyers will shed light on the accolades of his lengthy journalism career at 7:30 tonight in Hendricks Chapel. The format of the lecture series will be a conversational interview between Moyers and Gustav Niebuhr, a religion and media associate professor at Syracuse University.

Although the lectures committee reserved the guest speaker last year, it was Moyers’ December retirement that turned his appointment on the Hill into a reality.

‘He has long been on a list of people we wanted to get, but until he retired it was almost impossible,’ said Esther Gray, coordinator of the lecture series and special assistant for academic affairs. ‘He represents the best in journalism.’

Moyers’ reputation stems from not only a wide variety of career moves, but also an extended list of awards inspired by his commitment to news production. Among his list of achievements are 30 Emmy awards, two highly-coveted Dupont Columbia Gold Batons and the National Humanities Medal.

The honors Moyers has accumulated over his career are products of the provocative subjects he documents, according to Silvio Torres-Sallant, head of the Latino and Latin American Studies Program and member of the lecture committee.

‘He has a long history of work in media work with politically challenging ideas, making him the perfect kind of speaker for students to be exposed to,’ Sallant said. ‘He has the power of ideas to contribute to social transformation.’

While many journalists strive to make headlines, Moyers has worked to surface the truths beneath them, broaching sensitive subjects such as dying, addiction, and the powers of myth. The most challenging feature of his career has been chronically ideas rather than events, Sallant said.

Eileen Strempel, another committee member and assistant to the dean of The College of Arts and Sciences, remembers being mystified by Moyers’ ideas when she saw him on television during her college years.

‘I saw him speak on PBS to answer questions about God, creation and myths,’ Strempel said. ‘He talked about the ways culture held the same stories … I was stunned by the beauty and ambiguity of his responses.’

In addition to challenging the assumptions of difficult topics, Moyers has displayed an ability to hold American citizens to higher expectations of patriotism.

‘He has a wonderful, positive belief in Americans, and a good deal of faith in the general citizenry of the country,’ Gray said. ‘He doesn’t seem to have disillusionment with things, or get into negativisms you see in the media.’

In its five years of existence, the lectures committee has worked to bring a wide range of public figures that exhibit two common unifying factors: the abilities to effectively communicate and present a powerful message. Most of the members believe that Moyer will achieve these goals by teaching community members the power of inquiry.

‘The most important thing he could teach is the ability to ask questions, for they go always to the heart of the matter,’ Strempel said. She believes that Moyers will teach how people can be inspired to ask more critical questions, to find good solutions to those questions and to understand that there may be either no answer or many answers.

His depth of knowledge into global issues and ability to provoke global thinking, Strempel added, will make tomorrow’s activities ‘a night to remember.’

As coordinator of the lecture, Gray hopes the news aficionado will send a powerful message to aspiring journalists, one that teaches them the importance of objectivity and fairness in media.

‘Like other speakers, he has incredible thoughts to share,’ Gray said. ‘To have the honesty to be respected for what you did – that’s an important message.’

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: The University Lectures. ‘An Interview with Bill Moyers.’

WHERE: Hendricks Chapel

WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

COST: Free

Published on March 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm