Two years ago, thanks to the generosity of some unexpected funders and the loyalty of long-time funders, I came out of retirement with a new weekly series, Moyers & Company. Since then our team has kept a steady focus on some of the vital nerve centers of democracy: Money and politics. Economics and inequality. The world’s endangered ecology. Citizen participation in democracy. The power to inform and inspire.
We took a multimedia approach by producing programming designed for TV, web, radio and social media, and we’re impressed with the response. When New York Times television critic Mike Hale picked his “top ten” list of television shows for 2012, they included PBS’s Sherlock, TNT’s Southland, FX’s Louie, AMC’s The Killing, Showtime’s Homeland, CBS’s The Good Wife, assorted HBO documentaries and Moyers & Company. The headline read, “Still Going Strong: Detectives, Killers and Bill Moyers.” That one’s a keepsake.
So are the messages we received from viewers. Of the thousands we have received this one is a favorite: “Your show brings me to tears, and laughter, and gives me that most dangerous of gifts: hope. Thank you for that.” In turn, my team and I thank public television and radio stations for giving us the chance to serve our audience.
Although our final broadcast will air on January 3, we are exploring the possibility of continuing to serve our audience through BillMoyers.com with the goal of engaging you in the renewal of democracy. As of today, we have over 320,000 “friends” on Facebook and their number grows every day by the hundreds. They — like so many of our viewers — take their citizenship seriously.
We’d love to hear from you, our viewers, about what you’d like to see on BillMoyers.com going forward. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. And thanks again for watching.
— Bill Moyers
A Note on Comments
We want you to know in advance that starting July 15, BillMoyers.com will no longer be taking comments on new posts. It's a painful decision for us but necessary at this time.
As you know, Bill Moyers retired last January after 44 years as a broadcast journalist. We have kept the site going since then and are pleased and impressed that so many of you still rely on it as a trusted source of information. But we need to think through how to reshape our efforts consistent with modest resources and the changing digital landscape. Unfortunately, during this period of exploration we don't have the budget to moderate comments. We will discontinue the practice starting July 15, although all previous comments will be archived and available.
All of us here – our writers, producers, and editors (Bill included) – have had a blast keeping up with the comments you have posted here at BillMoyers.com over the past three-and-a-half years. Bill has been a faithful reader – based on his early morning ripostes to us he seems to have read every one – and he and the team have appreciated your contribution to the spirited debate often inspired by them (even when we have had to duck for cover!)
So it is with some regret that we archive old comments and shut down our comment boards.We hope that you will continue to respond to our work via our Facebook page, Twitter and on other forms of social media.
The conversation of our democracy even at its most raucous is crucial to our success as a nation. And in our eyes that conversation often begins with you. Keep speaking your mind and taking action to make our democracy work!