Bill Moyers’s journalism legacy

[Commentary] After more than 40 years on the air, Bill Moyers has turned off his microphone. His voice and regular presence will be deeply missed, but his legacy, and his impact on public life will surely live on.

During his storied career, the former White House press secretary and newspaper publisher produced groundbreaking reports on subjects ranging from the Iran-Contra scandal and the Iraq war to economic inequality and the corrosive influence of money in politics. Moyers understood that one of the most pernicious threats to journalism, and indeed democracy, is a media dominated by corporations that prioritize profits over the public interest. For anyone who tuned in to his programs over the past four decades, there was no doubt where Bill Moyers stood. We knew he was on our side. He was our friend.

[Katrina vanden Heuval is Editor of The Nation]