TV Journalist Moyers Battles Bias Charge by Baptist Fundamentalists

The widely respected television journalist, Bill Moyers, is in a tussle with fundamentalist officials of his own denomination, the Southern Baptists, particularly one of them.

It is a peculiar scrap, and it may lead to further rounds.

“I’ve been a Baptist all my life and I’m used to this,” Moyers said. “They say that where two or more Baptists are gathered together, there’ll be a fight.”

This one was started by a virtually unheard-of action--a formally adopted resolution by a major denomination assailing an individual journalist. It said Moyers’ TV series, “God and Politics” was biased.

Moyers said, “Nobody can point to a single frame of that series and say it’s inaccurate.

‘Scrupulously Fair’

“We tried to be scrupulously fair and with the single exception of Paul Pressler, the comments we have received from all sides have underlined that fairness.”

Pressler, a Houston judge, was the chief strategist for fundamentalists gaining predominance in the country’s biggest Protestant body.

As a member of the Southern Baptists’ national executive committee, Pressler pushed through the resolution in February, charging that the Moyers series supported “one faction”--the moderates--in a decade-long conflict with the now-ruling fundamentalist camp.

Charging “biased content,” the resolution urged people to complain to sponsors and the Public Broadcasting System that aired it more than a year before, in December, 1987.

“Why they waited so long is a mystery to me,” Moyers said in an interview. “Pressler now has the committee packed with his people so he can do whatever he wants.”

Calls Show Prejudiced

Pressler singled out a part of the series called, “Battle for the Bible,” dealing with the denominational controversy, and called it prejudiced.

That show is to be repeated May 21 on PBS as part of a series of Moyers’ best documentaries. He notified Pressler of the re-showing “in light of your spurious accusations” and “so viewers can once more judge it for themselves.”

Moyers invited Pressler to appear with him following the program for a half-hour live discussion to “say whatever he wants to say, unedited.”

However, the executive committee’s chairman, the Rev. Charles Sullivan of Lenoir City, Tenn., replied that Pressler had been asked not to discuss the matter further publicly until the committee considered it.

The committee next meets just before the June 9-16 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. Moyers earlier asked to appear before it to “discuss these matters in a Christian manner.” But Sullivan also had turned down that request, saying that there is no time on the agenda.

Proposed Taped Session

Pressler, at one point, proposed a 90-minute session with him taped by the denomination’s Sunday School Board, provided it was shown in full on PBS--something no independent producer could guarantee.

Ironically, while the jousting went on, the national convention of the Religious Public Relations Council, representing communications officials of most major denominations, presented a special award to Moyers for his high journalistic standards and sensitivity to religious values.

Fundamentalists gained hegemony among the 14.8 million Southern Baptists through a strategy--planned by Pressler--of electing successive convention presidents to use appointive powers to restrict personnel to “biblical inerrantists” or literalists.

Baptists, while always honoring the Bible, historically have resisted any official creed or control of interpretation.

Says Most Unaware

“Most Baptists don’t realize what’s been going on,” Moyers said. “They’re too busy doing the Lord’s work to pay any attention to denominational politics.”

A key element in Pressler’s complaint against Moyers was that in a filmed interview, Moyers changed the questions from those to which Pressler is shown responding.

Moyers told Baptist Press: “Paul Pressler is not telling the truth.”

Pressler said that during the interview, the only camera shots were “full face of me” but that Moyers’ staff later “recorded him asking new questions front face of him.”

They were “somewhat similar questions,” but had “different nuances,” he said. “And, brother, it is not fair to have . . . you appear like you are answering questions that were never asked.”

‘He Grew Angry’

Moyers recounted the interview: “As I began to ask him questions about his ties to right-wing politics and the beer man Joseph Coors, he grew angry and flushed in the face, abruptly stood up, tore off his microphone, announced the interview was over and left the room in a huff, all of which we filmed but did not use in the commentary.

“His unexpected departure meant that he was not present when, as is customary, we reversed the single camera and repeated the questions which my producer had taken down as the interview progressed. But the content of the questions was unchanged.

“As a matter of professional practice, I do not treat my guests unfairly; one would not survive in journalism and do so.”