Bill Moyers come as Stephen Colbert special guest on The Colbert Report on Tuesday. Bill Moyers was there to publicize his return from retirement and the launch of his new TV series, Moyers & Company. Colbert booked him to help Moyers do just that — but as his on-screen persona Stephen Colbert, the pontificating political conservative, he was there to throw good-natured verbal punches. And Moyers, just as genially, matched him blow for blow.
And then... in the same interview, Colbert countered with a piece of breaking news — that Mitt Romney had won the New Hampshire primary. He later took another shot at Moyers — but Moyers stole the ball, slam-dunked it, and got a well-earned ovation from the studio audience. (Go to 5:33 in the Colbert segment to watch.) And this, it has to be stressed, was while making a point about politics, economics and big business.
Bill Moyers didn’t lose any of his edge his feistiness or his sense of humor during his brief retirement. But in his new series, Moyers & Company, he prefers the role of straight man. He’s starting off by attacking the exact same subject — the growing economic inequality in our country, and why it’s grown — but by listening to, and gathering, the voices and viewpoints of people who are difficult to find on most TV talk shows.
That's difficult to find Moyers & Company as well. It’s not televised in a nationally standardized PBS time slot — in fact, it’s not even televised by PBS. Instead, it’s distributed by American Public Television and offered to local PBS member stations on an individual basis. And even though PBS doesn’t seem to put a high value on the return of Bill Moyers, the local stations do. Moyers & Company is being shown in 93 percent of all TV markets, including 27 out of the Top 30 — a very impressive number. Some stations will air it in prime time on Fridays, others on Saturdays or in the afternoons on Sundays. The easiest way to find where and when it plays in your area is to go to the just-created website — BillMoyers.com — click on schedule, and enter your zip code.
Bill Moyers
