Unveiling the Moment Bill Moyers Broke the Media's Climate Change Taboo
Bill Moyers' Legacy in Shaping Climate Reporting
Bill Moyers, a renowned journalist and former White House press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of climate change reporting. His vision led to the creation of Covering Climate Now (CCNow), an initiative that has since become a force in raising awareness about the climate crisis.
In April 2019, Moyers delivered a keynote speech at a conference at the Columbia School of Journalism, which sparked the formation of CCNow. His call to action challenged journalists to break the profession's silence about the climate change crisis and its solutions.
Moyers' influence was evident in the early stages of CCNow. He was instrumental in raising the first million dollars in philanthropic support and was supported by The Nation magazine, which provided half a million dollars for this effort.
By September, CCNow had organized 323 news outlets across the US and around the world for a week of dedicated climate change reporting. This massive mobilization marked a decisive shift in the political landscape, making it politically risky for government leaders to ignore the climate change crisis.
Moyers' work was often compared to that of Edward R. Murrow, another legendary journalist known for his courage in tackling important issues. Moyers invoked Murrow's battles in 1939 to emphasize the importance of covering the climate change crisis.
Throughout his life, Moyers emphasized the responsibility of journalists to tell the story of the climate change crisis so people could understand it. He once said, "Ideas have power, but ideas need legs." He emphasized the importance of citizens' movements and standing up for what is right and good.
Moyers' example will continue to guide CCNow in their mission to honor his call to tell the climate change story "so people get it." In fact, during the same week of CCNow's extensive climate change reporting, Greta Thunberg inspired an estimated six million people to take to the streets around the world demanding climate action.
Sadly, Moyers passed away on June 26, 2020, at the age of ninety-one. His legacy, however, lives on in the work of CCNow and the countless journalists who continue to tell the story of the climate change crisis with the same passion and determination that he brought to his own work.
This piece is a co-publication with The Guardian, The Nation, and Covering Climate Now.
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