Interesting timing. A couple of big time CBS guys within a month.

CBS News pioneer Don Hewitt, who invented '60s Minutes' dies at 86
NEW YORK (AP) — Don Hewitt, the CBS newsman who invented the highly popular TV newsmagazine "60 Minutes" and produced it for 36 years, died Wednesday. He was 86.

A Sunday evening fixture, "60 Minutes" was television's top-rated show four times, most recently in 1992-93. While no longer a regular in the top 10 in Hewitt's later years, it was still TV's most popular newsmagazine.

Hewitt died of pancreatic cancer at his Bridgehampton home, CBS said. His death came a month after that of fellow CBS legend Walter Cronkite.

Hewitt joined CBS News in television's infancy in 1948, and produced the first televised presidential debate in 1960.

He made his mark in the late 1960s when CBS agreed to try his idea of a one-hour broadcast that mixed hard news and feature stories. The television newsmagazine was born on Sept. 24, 1968.

He dreamed of a television version of Life, the dominant magazine of the mid-20th century, where interviews with entertainers could co-exist with investigations that exposed corporate malfeasance.

"The formula is simple," he wrote in a memoir in 2001, "and it's reduced to four words every kid in the world knows: Tell me a story. It's that easy."

"60 Minutes" won 73 Emmys, 13 DuPont/Columbia University Awards and nine Peabody Awards during Hewitt's stewardship, which ended in 2004.

Hewitt often said the accepted wisdom for television news writers before "60 Minutes" was to put words to pictures. He believed that was backward.

Among his other jobs, Hewitt directed the first network television newscast on May 3, 1948. He originated the use of cue cards for news readers, now done by electronic machines. He was the first to "superimpose" words on the TV screen for a news show.

Donald Shepard Hewitt was born in New York on Dec. 14, 1922, and grew up in the suburb of New Rochelle. He dropped out of New York University to become a copy boy at the New York Herald Tribune. He joined the Merchant Marines during World War II and worked as a correspondent posted to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's London headquarters.

After the war and a few brief journalism jobs, he took a job as an associate director at CBS News in 1948.

During his tenure, "60 Minutes" was often a place where people came to make news. Presidential candidate Bill Clinton addressed questions of infidelity in 1992, and Al Gore used the show to announce he wouldn't run for president in 2004.

Hewitt had said he wanted to "die at my desk," creating a delicate situation for CBS. The show's ratings were declining and it had the oldest audience in television, as well as some of the oldest correspondents.

Hewitt, then 80, was persuaded to announce in January 2003 that he would step down at the conclusion of the 2003-2004 season, which he did. In return, CBS gave him a contract that would pay him through age 90.

Hewitt had four children. Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Marilyn.

I wasn't born in 1968 when "60 Minutes" debuted, but it's definitely a "timeless" piece of our television heritage and a constant ratings winner every Sunday night TO THIS DAY starting CBS' prime time lineup. While the show these days now features the likes of Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Bob Simon, Scott Pelley, plus occasional stories from the semi-retired Mike Wallace & Morley Safer,"CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric, CNN's Anderson Cooper & Christine Amanpour, along with Andy Rooney's commentary, "60 Minutes" continues to set the journalistic standard for newsmagazines. Don Hewitt created a "timeless" piece of TV that has withstood the test of time, no puns intended, and it's very unfortunate that he has passed away in the same month that Walter Cronkite also went to that anchor desk in the sky.

I read his book "Tell Me A Story". Pretty entertaining.

Heard Sirott talking about when he worked on West 57th, which at the time was aiming to be a younger persons 60 Minutes. Said Hewitt and the rest of the 60 Minutes gang would pass them in the hall and kind of look down their noses at the 57th people. Hewitt used to show the ratings to Sirott, just to let him know that 60 Minutes was still king of the hill. Sirott said it kind of bugged him until he later learned that Hewitt had a big time inferiority complex.

Wallace just keeps on going.......

Peroia_Matt,
Thanks for that.! I forgot about that show! Now Sirrot is very old.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Peoria, could you SHARK me with which of the Sirrott family was on West 57th? I probably should know, but don't. Thanks

There's no way Hewitt would have let that Vick puff piece run last week.

James Brown is now a 60 Minutes correspondent?

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You know me like that.

Agreed. Hope he didn't watch it. His baby crapped its pants on national tv.

SHARK can tell you that Bob Sirott used to work on "West 57th", which CBS News used to air in the late '80s, and also featured a future "Today Show" host named Meredith Vieira as a correspondent back in the day. It was called "West 57th" much like "190 North" got its name locally. The offices and studios of CBS News have been headquartered at I believe 524 W. 57th St. in New York City, while ABC7's current Sunday night entertainment magazine "190 North" got its name after its famous address at 190 N. State. As for why James Brown and not any of the current CBS News correspondents got the Michael Vick interview, I think it's two fold. One, I think Michael Vick had a say in who he wanted to conduct his first post-prison interview. Two, J.B. is a well-respected interviewer and personality who tries to ask the most appropriate questions. Three, it's cross-promotion, considering the fact Sean McManus isn't just J.B.'s boss at CBS Sports. Sean also runs CBS News now.

I was going to go full SHARK on my post, but when it came down to it I didn't even have the energy to put in Bob's name. I'll leave the SHARKING to the SHARK.

Thanks. The Bob was enough.

CBS News will devote this Sunday night's "60 Minutes" broadcast at 6p on CBS2HD & WBBM Newsradio 780 to Don Hewitt and his career for the full hour, complete with current & former correspondents sharing their memories of the man who created a "timeless" piece of TV history. I have a feeling even Andy Rooney will devote a "Few Minutes" to the man who gave him his own time some 3 decades ago after he replaced "Point/Counterpoint" in the early '80s.