Moyers Named President of Two Funding Groups

TV journalist Bill Moyers has been appointed president of the Florence and John Schumann Foundation, a funder of programming on public television, and of the Schumann Fund of New Jersey.

Moyers, a recipient of Schumann grants in the past, succeeds William B. Mullins, who resigned because of ill health.

Moyers said in an interview Wednesday that he would continue to produce his own series and specials for PBS but hoped through the foundation to enable others to get their projects on the air as well.

PBS is currently airing Moyers’ weekly series, “World of Ideas,” and he is preparing documentaries on numerous topics, from the environment to the impact of sports scandals on higher education.

“I will be producing a little bit less television myself and making a little more TV happen with other people,” said Moyers, who noted that all of the details for his new role had not been worked out. “I get a steady stream of independent producers and journalists saying, ‘Here’s a project--can you do it?’ Now I can say, ‘I can help you with the money.’ ”

As an example of how he might help match producers, including PBS stations, with projects and funding, Moyers said, “I’m exploring how public television might commission some film makers in Eastern Europe to produce documentaries for an American audience about what’s happening in their countries.”

The primary interests of the Schumann Foundation are the environment, government and international affairs. It gives $3.5 million annually in grants, but plans to increase that amount in the future, Moyers said.

Since 1986, the Schumann Foundation has committed $9 million to support Moyers’ public-television endeavors, including his two series on the bicentennial of the Constitution and several documentaries. Now that he is taking over, Moyers said, the Schumann Foundation will make no additional grants to his own projects.