Bill Moyers, former press secretary turned acclaimed journalist, dead at 91

The former press secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson and longtime broadcast journalist has died, his family confirmed to CNN.

Bill Moyers, a former press secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson who turned into a longtime broadcast journalist and champion of public media, has died at age 91, his family confirmed to CNN. The acclaimed journalist’s son, William Moyers, said he died of complications from a long illness. His wife of nearly 71 years, Judith Davidson Moyers, was by his side. Moyers, who was once described by Walter Cronkite as “the conscience” of the country, was a public television pioneer, leading multiple installments of “Bill Moyers’ Journal” on PBS stations in the 1970s and again in the late 2000s. His storied career also included chapters as the publisher of Newsday; a presidential debate moderator; a correspondent at CBS News; and analyst at NBC News. Through five decades on the air, “he reached the heights of excellence in journalism,” former CNN president Tom Johnson said, noting that many compared Moyers to “the Edward R. Murrow of those times.” Johnson was an assistant to Moyers during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, when Moyers served as press secretary and one of the most trusted advisors to the president.