AUSTIN, Texas—Broadcast journalist and noted author Bill Moyers will discuss “Journalism’s Last Stand” at the 12th Liz Carpenter Lectureship Feb. 17 at The University of Texas at Austin. The event, scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hogg Auditorium, is free to the public.
Moyers, whose work in television has been recognized with numerous honors, including more than 30 Emmy Awards and several George Peabody Awards, is a UT Austin Distinguished Alumnus. His talk will be followed by a dialogue with University English Professor Betty Sue Flowers, communications consultant Christy Carpenter, advertising executive Roy Spence and UT students Rob Addy and Jennifer Valentino.
“Bill Moyers, a product of The University of Texas, is at the top of his profession,” said Carpenter. “We are fortunate to get his insight at this critical time in the history of journalism. The discussion should open up our eyes to what is at stake in our democracy through the media.”
Moyers will speak for about 45 minutes followed by the dialogue. A reception will follow in the Texas Union Ballroom. All guests and community members are invited. Free tickets for the event will be available at campus UTTM (477-6060) outlets beginning Monday (Feb. 14). The event also is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and the Texas Union Distinguished Speakers Committee.
The Liz Sutherland Carpenter Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in the Humanities and Sciences was established by the UT System Board of Regents using funds raised at a benefit honoring Carpenter in 1983, the University’s Centennial year. The lectureship has brought to Austin such luminaries as President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Former President Gerald Ford, Madam el-Sadat, anthropologist Jane Goodall and poet Maya Angelou.
A survey of television critics by Television Quarterly,the official journal of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, placed Moyers among the 10 journalists who have had the most significant influence on television news. He is one of the first three persons to be awarded the Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the American Film Institute. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Moyers was elected to the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and, a year later, was honored by the National Endowment for the Humanities “for outstanding contributions to American cultural life.”
Long associated with the Public Broadcasting Service and with CBS News as a producer, correspondent and commentator, Moyers formed his own company, Public Affairs Television, Inc., in 1987. Among his public television series are “Creativity, A Walk Through the 20th Century,” “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth,” “A World of Ideas,” “Healing and the Mind” and “Amazing Grace.” Several of his books based on the television series have become best sellers. His most recent publication, Fooling with Words: A Celebration of Poets and their Craft,was published in 1999.
Before entering broadcasting, Moyers was deputy director of the Peace Corps in the Kennedy Administration and special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1963-67, including two years as White House press secretary. A recent survey of readers from the American Journalism Reviewnamed Moyers “the best White House press secretary of all time.”
Born in Oklahoma and raised in Texas, Moyers began his varied career as a cub reporter on the Marshall News Messenger at age 16. He attended UT, wrote for the Texanand was graduated with a degree in journalism in 1956.
Moyers continues to have close ties with the University and, in fact, is scheduled to give the address at the Spring Commencement ceremony on May 20. He also participated in last fall’s centennial celebration of the Daily Texanstudent newspaper.
Flowers, a former director of the Plan II Honors Program, is a Piper Professor and member of the University’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. She is the author of several publications, including two books of poetry. She also has edited four books in collaboration with Moyers, including Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth.
Spence is a graduate of UT Austin and, with five other graduates, founded the ad agency GSD&M. He oversees 550 employees, billings of $750 million and a blue-chip client list that includes Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines, MasterCard and Dreamworks. He also was recently recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus.
Carpenter is president and founder of C. Carpenter & Company, a strategic communications consulting firm. She currently serves as vice chairman of the Board of Corporation for Public Broadcasting to which she was appointed by President Clinton in early 1998. Addy became the first Asian American elected to the editorship of the Texanlast spring. After graduation, he hopes to attend law school and pursue a career in legislative journalism. Valentino is managing editor for the Texanand will graduate from UT in May with a double major in Plan II and English.
For more information, contact 475-6645 or visit the following Web site: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/carpenter.
