60 Minutes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968.
The program was created by long-time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a
unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV
programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the years,
including 78 Emmys (as of 2007)[1] . It is considered by many to be the preeminent
investigative television program in the United States.
Broadcast history
Early years
Since 1978, the opening features the Aristo stopwatch[2]. Since October 29, 2006, the
background changed to red and the clock is now in the upright position. This version was
used from 1982 to 2006.The inspiration for the show came from the controversial
Canadian news program This Hour Has Seven Days, which ran from 1964 to 1966, and
in turn, was inspired by the British satire series That Was The Week That Was. The show
pioneered many of the most important investigative journalism techniques, including
re-editing interviews, hidden cameras, and "gotcha" visits to the home or office of an
investigative subject.[3] Imitators sprang up in Australia, Canada and the United
Kingdom during the 1970s, as well as on local television news.[3]
Initially, 60 Minutes aired as a bi-weekly show hosted by Harry Reasoner and Mike
Wallace, debuting on September 24, 1968 and alternating weeks with other CBS News
productions on Tuesday evenings. The first edition, described by Reasoner in the opening
as a "kind of a magazine for television," featured the following segments:
A look inside the headquarter suites of presidential candidates Richard Nixon and Hubert
Humphrey during their respective parties' national conventions that summer;
Commentary by European writers Malcolm Muggeridge, Peter von Zahn, and Luigi
Barzini, Jr. on the American electoral system;
A commentary by political columnist Art Buchwald;
An interview with then-Attorney General Ramsey Clark about police brutality;
An abbreviated version of an Academy Award-winning short film by Saul Bass, Why
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Man Creates; and
A meditation by Wallace and Reasoner on the relation between perception and reality.
Wallace said that the show aimed to "reflect reality," while acknowledging the differing
perceptions of it.
The first "magazine-cover" chroma key was a photo of two helmeted policemen (for the
Clark interview segment). Wallace and Reasoner sat in chairs on opposite sides of the set,
which had a cream-colored backdrop; the more famous black backdrop (which is still
used as of 2009) did not appear until the following year. The logo was in Helvetica type
with the word "Minutes" spelled in all lower-case letters; the logo most associated with
the show did not appear until about 1974. Further, to extend the magazine motif, the
producers added a "Vol. xx, No. xx" to the title display on the chroma key; that was seen
until about 1971. The trademark stopwatch, however, did not appear on the inaugural
broadcast; it would not debut until several episodes later. Alpo dog food was the sole
sponsor of the first program.[4][5]
Don Hewitt, who had been a producer of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite,
sought out Wallace as a stylistic contrast to Reasoner.[6] According to one historian of the
show, the idea of the format was to make the hosts the reporters, to always feature stories
that were of national importance but focused upon individuals involved with, or in
conflict with, those issues, and to limit the reports' airtime to around thirteen minutes [7].
However, the initial season was troubled by lack of network confidence, as the show did
not garner ratings much higher than that of other CBS News documentaries. As a rule,
during that era, news programming during prime time lost money; networks mainly
scheduled public affairs programs in prime time in order to bolster the prestige of their
news departments, and thus boost ratings for the regular evening newscasts, which were
seen by far more people than documentaries and the like. 60 Minutes struggled under that
stigma during its first three years.
Changes to 60 Minutes came fairly early in the program's history. When Reasoner left
CBS to co-anchor ABC's evening newscast (he would return to CBS and the show in
1978), Morley Safer joined the team in 1970, and he took over Reasoner's duties of
reporting less aggressive stories. However, when Richard Nixon began targeting press
access and reporting, even Safer, formerly the CBS News bureau head in Saigon and
London, began to do "hard" investigative reports, and during the 1970–71 season alone
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60 Minutes reported on cluster bombs, the South Vietnamese Army, Canada's amnesty for
American draft dodgers, Nigeria, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland.[8]
"Point/Counterpoint" segment
In 1971, the "Point/Counterpoint" segment was introduced, featuring James J. Kilpatrick
and Nicholas von Hoffman (later Shana Alexander), a three-minute debate between
spokespeople for the political right and left, respectively. This segment pioneered a
format that would later be adapted by CNN for its Crossfire show. This ran until 1979,
when Andy Rooney, whose commentaries were already alternating with the debate
segment since the fall of 1978, replaced it; Rooney remains with the program today.
Effects from the Prime Time Access Rule
By 1971, the FCC introduced the Prime Time Access Rule, which freed local network
affiliates in the top 50 markets (in practice, the entire network) to take a half hour of
prime time from the networks on Mondays through Saturdays and one full hour on
Sundays. Because nearly all affiliates found production costs for the FCC's intended goal
of increased public affairs programming very high and the ratings (thus advertising
revenues) low, making it mostly unprofitable, the FCC created an exception for
network-authored news and public affairs. After a six-month hiatus in late 1971, CBS
thus found a prime place for 60 Minutes in a portion of that displaced time, 6–7 p.m.
(Eastern time; 5–6 Central) on Sundays, in January 1972.[8]
This proved somewhat less than satisfactory, however, because in order to accommodate
CBS' telecasts of late afternoon National Football League games, 60 Minutes went on
hiatus during the fall from 1972 to 1975 (and the summer of 1972). This took place
because football telecasts were protected contractually from interruptions in the wake of
the infamous "Heidi Game" incident on NBC in November 1968. Despite the irregular
scheduling, the program's hard-hitting reports attracted a steadily growing audience,
particularly during the waning days of the Vietnam War and the gripping events of the
Watergate scandal; at that time, few if any other major-network news shows did in-depth
investigative reporting to the degree carried out by 60 Minutes. Eventually, during the
summers of 1973 through 1975, CBS did allow the show back onto the prime time
schedule proper, on Fridays in 1973 and Sundays the two years thereafter, as a
replacement for the regular season's program.
It was only when the FCC returned an hour to the networks on Sundays (for
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children's/family or news programming), taken away from them four years earlier, in a
1975 amendment to the Access Rule that CBS finally found a viable permanent timeslot
for 60 Minutes. When a family-oriented drama, Three for the Road, ended after a
13-week run in the fall, the newsmagazine took its place at 7/6 p.m. on December 7. It
has aired at that time since, for over 33 years, making 60 Minutes not only the
longest-running prime time program currently in production, but also the television
program (excluding daily programs such as evening newscasts or breakfast shows)
broadcasting for the longest length of time at a single time period each week in U.S.
television history.
This move, and the addition of then-White House correspondent Dan Rather to the
reporting team, made the program into a strong ratings hit and, eventually, a general
cultural phenomenon. This was no less than a stunning reversal of the previously poor
ratings performances of documentary programs on network television, as mentioned
above. By 1976, 60 Minutes became the top-rated show on Sunday nights in the U.S. By
1979, it had achieved the number-one Nielsen rating for all television programs, unheard
of before for a news broadcast in prime time. This success translated into great profits for
CBS; advertising rates went from $17,000 per thirty seconds in 1975 to $175,000 in 1982
[9].
The program sometimes does not start until after 7 p.m., due largely to CBS's live
broadcast of NFL games. At the conclusion of the game, the network will end its
coverage right away and air 60 Minutes in its entirety (however, on the West Coast,
because the actual end of the live games is much earlier in the afternoon in comparison to
the Eastern and Central time zones, 60 Minutes is always able to start at its normal start
time of 7 p.m. Pacific Time, leaving affiliates free to broadcast local news, the CBS
Evening News, and other local or syndicated programming leading up to 60 Minutes).
The program's success has also led CBS Sports to schedule events leading into 60
Minutes and the rest of the network's primetime lineup, thus (again, except on the West
Coast) pre-empting the Sunday editions of the CBS Evening News and affiliates' local
newscasts.
Pre-emptions since 1978
The program has rarely been pre-empted since about 1978. Two notable pre-emptions
occurred in 1976 and 1977, to make room for the annual telecast of The Wizard of Oz,
which had recently returned to CBS after having been shown on NBC for eight years.
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However, CBS would, in later years, schedule the film so that it would no longer
pre-empt 60 Minutes. In recent years, 60 Minutes has been frequently delayed when CBS
has an NFL doubleheader.
Radio Broadcast and Internet Distribution
60 Minutes is also aired via CBS Radio on several of their radio stations at the same time
as the television broadcast (in each station's own local market), such as WCBS-AM,
KNX, WBBM-AM, WWJ, and several other stations across the country owned by CBS.
An audio version of the full show is also distributed via podcast and the iTunes Store,
beginning with the September 23, 2007 broadcast [10]. The program's video also streams
several hours after broadcast on CBSNews.com and CBS Interactive property CNET TV.
Format
The format of 60 Minutes consists of three long-form news stories, without superimposed
graphics. There is a commercial break between two stories. The stories are introduced
from a set which has a backdrop resembling a magazine story on the same topic. The
show undertakes its own investigations and follows up on investigations instigated by
national newspapers and other sources.
Story Topics
Many stories center on allegations of wrongdoing and corruption on the part of
corporations, politicians, and other public officials. Said figures are commonly either
subjected to an interview, or evade contact with the 60 Minutes crew altogether, either by
written notice or by simply fleeing from the approaching journalist and his camera crew.
Instead of summarizing an interview or providing direct commentary on an issue, 60
Minutes prefers to air the interview itself. When the subject is hiding a secret, the viewers
witness the evasion directly.
Profile of the Interviewee
The show also features profiles. The profiles are often of celebrities and offer up a
biography of the figure, focusing upon the celebrity's early life story, obstacles, and
choices, rather than offering a simple publicity platform. Non-celebrity profiles usually
feature a person who has accomplished a heroic action or striven to improve the world.
Occasionally, if a celebrity has written a book or has a current film in release, the
segment featuring them will also promote the book or film. However, the celebrity in
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question will always be profiled in detail, and never appears on the show simply to
promote his or her product.
Reporting Tone
In tone, 60 Minutes blends the probing journalism of the seminal 1950s CBS series See It
Now with Edward R. Murrow (a show for which Hewitt was the director its first few
years) and the personality profiles of another Murrow program, Person to Person. In
Hewitt's own words, 60 Minutes blends "higher Murrow" and "lower Murrow."
"Point/Counterpoint" segment
For most of the 1970s, the program included the Point/Counterpoint segment in which a
liberal and a conservative commentator would debate a particular issue. This originally
featured James J. Kilpatrick representing the conservative side and Nicholas von
Hoffman for the liberal, with Shana Alexander taking over for von Hoffman after he
departed in 1974. Although discontinued in 1979, when Andy Rooney, who had
previously left the show with Harry Reasoner in 1970, returned to offer commentary, the
segment was an innovation that caught the public imagination as a live version of
competing editorials. Point/Counterpoint was also lampooned by the NBC comedy series
Saturday Night Live, which featured Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd as debaters, with
Aykroyd typically beginning his remarks with, "Jane, you ignorant slut", and in the
motion picture Airplane!, in which the faux Kilpatrick argues in favor of the plane
crashing.
A similar concept was revived briefly in March 2003, this time featuring Bob Dole and
Bill Clinton, former opponents in the 1996 presidential election. The pair agreed to do ten
segments, which were called "Clinton/Dole" and "Dole/Clinton" in alternating weeks, but
did not continue into the fall television season. Reports indicated that the segments were
considered too gentlemanly, in the style of the earlier Point/Counterpoint, and lacked the
feistiness of Crossfire.[11]
Andy Rooney segment
Since 1979, the show has usually ended with a (usually light-hearted and humorous)
commentary by Andy Rooney expounding on topics of wildly varying import, ranging
from international politics, to economics, and to personal philosophy on every-day life.
One recurring topic has been measuring the amount of coffee in coffee cans.[12]
Rooney's pieces, particularly one in which he referred to actor Mel Gibson as a "wacko,"
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have on occasion led to complaints from viewers.
Opening Sequence
On Sunday, October 29, 2006, the opening sequence changed from a black background to
white. The black background had been used for over a decade. Also, the gray background
for the Aristo stopwatch in the "cover" changed to red.
60 Minutes is the first regularly scheduled television program in American television
history not to have ever used any type of theme music. The only theme sound is from the
signature Aristo stopwatch in the opening title credits, before each commercial break, and
at the tail-end of the closing credits.
Correspondents & hosts
Mike Wallace is perhaps the iconic representation of the style of journalism for which the
show is known and has been on the show since its inception in 1968. On March 14, 2006,
Wallace announced his retirement from 60 Minutes after 37 years with the program.
However, he continues to work for CBS News as a "Correspondent Emeritus".
Current Correspondents and Commentators
Current Hosts:
Morley Safer (part-time correspondent, 1968–1970; host, 1970–present)
Steve Kroft (host, 1989–present, co-editor)
Lesley Stahl (host, 1991–present, co-editor)
Bob Simon (host, 1996–present)
Scott Pelley (host, 2003–present)
Part-time Correspondents:
Charlie Rose (2008–present)
Lara Logan (2005–present)
Katie Couric (2006–present)
Anderson Cooper (2006–present)
Byron Pitts (2009–present)
[edit] Past correspondents & hosts
Past Hosts:
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Harry Reasoner (host, 1968–1970 & 1978–1991)
Mike Wallace (host, 1968–2006)[13] — Correspondent Emeritus
Ed Bradley (part-time correspondent, 1976–1981; host, 1981–2006)[14]
Dan Rather (part-time correspondent, 1968–1975; host, 1975–1981 & 2005–2006)
Diane Sawyer (part-time correspondent, 1981–1984; host, 1984–1989)
Meredith Vieira (part-time correspondent, 1982–1985 & 1991–1993; host, 1990–1991)
Christiane Amanpour (part-time correspondent, 1996–2000; host, 2000–2005)
Past Part-time Correspondents:
Charles Kuralt (1968–1979)
Walter Cronkite (1968–1981)
Roger Mudd (1968–1980)
Eric Sevareid (1968–1969)
Bill Plante (1968–1995)
John Hart (1969–1975)
Bob Schieffer (1973–1996)
Morton Dean (1975–1979)
Marlene Sanders (1978–1987)
Charles Osgood (1981–1994)
Charlie Rose (1984–1991)
Forrest Sawyer (1985–1987)
Connie Chung (1990–1993)
Paula Zahn (1990–1999)
John Roberts (1992–2005)
Allen Martin (1994–1995)
Russ Mitchell (1995–1998)
Bryant Gumbel (1998–2002)
[edit] Commentators
Since 1978, Andy Rooney has contributed a commentary at the end of episodes.
Other commentators have included:
James J. Kilpatrick (Conservative debater, 1971–1979)
Shana Alexander (Liberal debater, 1975–1979)
Nicholas von Hoffman (Liberal debater, 1971–1974)
Bill Clinton (Liberal debater, 2003)
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Bob Dole (Conservative debater, 2003)
Stanley Crouch (Commentator, 1996)
Molly Ivins (Liberal commentator, 1996)
P. J. O'Rourke (Conservative commentator, 1996)
[edit] Producers
Don Hewitt 1968–2004
Jeff Fager 2004–present
Ratings and recognition
Ratings
Based on ratings, 60 Minutes is the most successful broadcast in U.S. television history,
since it was moved into its present timeslot in 1975. For five of its seasons it has been
that year's top program, a feat only matched by the sitcoms All in the Family and The
Cosby Show. It was a top ten show for 23 seasons in a row (1977–2000), an unsurpassed
record.[1]
60 Minutes first broke into the Ratings Top 20 during the 1976–77 season. The following
season it was the fourth-most-watched show, and by 1979–80, it was the number one
show.[1] During the 21st century it remains among the top 20 programs in the Nielsen
ratings, and the highest-rated news magazine.[15]
Recognition
Emmy Awards
As of May 2007, 60 Minutes had won a total of 78 Emmy Awards[1], a record
unsurpassed by any primetime show on any network. [1]
Peabody Awards
The show won Peabody Awards for the segments "All in the Family", an investigation
into abuses by government and military contractors; "The CIA's Cocaine", which
uncovered CIA involvement in drug smuggling; "Friendly Fire", a report on incidents of
friendly fire in the Gulf War; and "Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out", the first interviews
with the suspects in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case.[16]
Other awards
The show received an Investigative Reporter and Editor medal for their segment "The
Osprey", documenting a Marine coverup of deadly flaws in the V-22 Osprey aircraft.
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Impact on Innocent Victims
In 1983, a report by Morley Safer, "Lenell Geter's in Jail," helped free from prison a
Texas man who was wrongly convicted of armed robbery.[citation needed]
Record of Longest Running Show
The show currently holds the record for the longest continuously running program of any
genre scheduled during American network prime time; it has aired at 7 p.m. Eastern Time
Sundays since December 7, 1975. The 42nd season premiere took place on September 27,
2009.[17] The longer-running Meet the Press has also aired in prime time, but currently
airs during the daytime, as it has for most of its history. The Walt Disney anthology
television series, which premiered in 1954, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which has
aired since 1951, have aired longer, but none of them has aired in prime time continually,
as 60 Minutes has done.
Controversies
The show has been praised for landmark journalism and received many awards. However,
it has also become embroiled in some controversy, including:
William Westmoreland
In the 1982 "The Uncounted Enemy, a Vietnam Deception," which Mike Wallace
narrated for CBS Reports, the news division's documentary program, it was reported that
William Westmoreland, former commander of American military operations in the
Vietnam War, withheld information from decision-makers in Washington for political
reasons. Westmoreland held a press conference a few days later, calling it a 'preposterous
hoax,' and eventually sued for libel. TV Guide issued a report called 'Anatomy of a
Smear,' detailing problems with the report, including the ignoring of contrary evidence,
and video editing to change the questions Westmoreland is asked. Westmoreland
withdrew the suit a few days before the protracted case was given to the jury. He and
CBS News issued a joint statement in which CBS said it "does not believe that General
Westmoreland was unpatriotic or disloyal in performing his duties as he saw them."
Westmoreland claimed a victory; CBS, in a separate statement, said nothing in the trial
changed its stance that the report was "fair and accurate."
Unintended acceleration
On November 23, 1986, 60 Minutes aired a segment greenlit by Don Hewitt, concerning
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the Audi 5000 automobile, a popular German luxury car. The story covered a supposed
problem of "unintended acceleration" when the brake pedal was pushed, with emotional
interviews with six people who sued Audi (unsuccessfully) after they crashed their cars,
including one woman who had killed her six year old boy. Footage was shown of a Audi
5000 with the accelerator moving down on its own, accelerating the car, after an expert
witness employed by one of the plaintiffs modified it with a concealed device to cause it
to do so.[18] Independent investigators concluded that this was most likely due to driver
incompetence, where the driver let their foot slip off the brake and onto the accelerator.
Tests by Audi and independent journalists showed that even with the throttle wide open,
the car would simply stall if the brakes were actually being used.[19] Some claims were
made that this was in part due to a slightly closer placing of the pedals than in many
American cars, which allows smoother driving for greater fuel efficiency and more
control in an emergency situation.
The incident devastated Audi sales in the United States, which did not reach the same
level for another fifteen years. The initial incidents which prompted the report were found
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada to have
been attributable to operator error, where car owners had depressed the accelerator pedal
instead of the brake pedal. CBS issued a partial retraction, without acknowledging the
test results of involved government agencies.[20]
A rival to 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, would be found guilty of similar tactics years later
regarding fuel tank integrity on General Motors pickup trucks.
Alar
In February 1989, 60 Minutes aired a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council
claiming health problems with daminozide (Alar), a chemical sprayed on apples. Apple
sales dropped and CBS was sued by apple growers.[21]
Werner Erhard
A 60 Minutes broadcast of March 3, 1991 dealt with controversies involving Werner
Erhard's personal and business life. One year after the 60 Minutes piece aired, Erhard
filed a lawsuit against CBS and a variety of other defendants, claiming that the broadcast
contained several "false, misleading and defamatory" statements about Erhard. Erhard
dropped the lawsuit a few months before any court decision had been reached on its
claims.[22] The 60 Minutes segment was made unavailable with the disclaimer: "This
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segment has been deleted at the request of CBS News for legal or copyright reasons."[23]
Brown and Williamson
In 1995, former Brown & Williamson Vice President for Research and Development
Jeffrey Wigand provided information to 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman that B&W
had systematically hidden the health risks of their cigarettes. (See transcription.)
Furthermore, it was alleged that B&W had introduced foreign agents (fiberglass,
ammonia, etc.) with the intent of enhancing the effect of nicotine. Bergman began to
produce a piece based upon the information, but ran into opposition from Don Hewitt
who, along with CBS lawyers, feared a billion dollar lawsuit from Brown and Williamson
for tortious interference for encouraging Wigand to violate his nondisclosure agreement.
A number of people in CBS would benefit from a sale of CBS to Westinghouse Electric
Corporation, including the head of CBS lawyers and CBS News. Also, because of the
interview, the son of CBS President Laurence Tisch was among the people from the big
tobacco companies in the risk of being caught having committed perjury.
Because of the hesitation from Hewitt, The Wall Street Journal instead broke Wigand's
story. The 60 Minutes piece was eventually aired with substantially altered content, and
was missing some of the most damning evidence against B&W. The exposé of the
incident was published in an article in Vanity Fair by Marie Brenner, entitled The Man
Who Knew Too Much.[24] The New York Times wrote that 60 Minutes and CBS had
"betrayed the legacy of Edward R. Murrow." The incident was turned into a seven-times
Oscar-nominated feature film entitled The Insider, directed by Michael Mann and starring
Russell Crowe as Wigand, Al Pacino as Bergman, and Christopher Plummer as Mike
Wallace. Wallace denounced the portrayal of him as inaccurate to his stance on the issue.
U.S. Customs Service
60 Minutes alleged in 1997 that agents of the U.S. Customs Service ignored drug
trafficking across the Mexico – United States border at San Diego.[25] The only evidence
was a memorandum apparently written by Rudy Camacho, who was the head of the San
Diego branch office. Based on this memo, CBS alleged that Camacho had allowed trucks
belonging to a particular firm to cross the border unimpeded. Mike Horner, a former
Customs Service employee, had passed the memos on to 60 Minutes, and even provided a
copy with an official stamp. Camacho was not consulted about the piece, and his career
was devastated in the immediate term as his own department placed suspicion on him. In
the end, it turned out that Horner had forged the documents as an act of revenge for his
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treatment within the Customs Service. Camacho successfully sued CBS for an unknown
settlement, and Don Hewitt was forced to issue an on-air retraction.[26]
Kennewick man
A legal battle between archaeologists and the Umatilla tribe over the remains of a
skeleton, nicknamed Kennewick Man, was reported on by 60 Minutes (October 25, 1998),
to which the Umatilla tribe reacted very negatively. The tribe considered the segment
heavily biased in favor of the scientists, cutting out important arguments, such as
explanations of Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.[27] The report
focused heavily on the racial politics of the controversy and also added inflammatory
arguments, such as questioning the legitimacy of Native American sovereignty[28] –
much of the racial focus of the segment was later reported to be unfounded or
misinterpreted.[29]
Viacom/CBS cross-promotion
In recent years the show has been accused of promoting books, films, and interviews with
celebrities who are published or promoted by sister businesses in the Viacom media
conglomerate (2000–2005), without disclosing the journalistic conflict-of-interest to
viewers.[30]
"The Internet Is Infected" episode and the false hacker photo
In the episode "The Internet Is Infected" (March 29, 2009) SecureWorks' Don Jackson, a
data protection professional, is interviewed. Jackson himself declares in the program that:
"A part of my job is to know the enemy". However, during the interview, Jackson shows
a photo of Finnish upper level comprehensive school pupils and falsely identifies them as
notorious Russian hackers.[31]
In the photo, one of the children is wearing a jacket with the Coat of Arms of Finland on
it. Another one is wearing a cap which clearly has the logo of Karjala, a Finnish brand of
beer, on it. The principal of the school in Taivalkoski confirmed that the photo was taken
about five years ago at the school.[32]
The photo's exact origins are unknown, but it's widely known in Finland being originally
posted in a very popular Finnish social networking site, IRC-Galleria, in the early 2000s.
From there, due to its partly humorous radical right content, it spread all over Finnish
internet communities and even originated a couple of patriotically titled (but intentionally
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misspelled) mock sites.[32][33]
60 Minutes did issue a correction and on-air apology.[when?]
60 Minutes II
Main article: 60 Minutes II
In 1999, a second edition of 60 Minutes was started in the U.S., called 60 Minutes II.
This edition was later renamed 60 Minutes by CBS for the fall of 2004 in an effort to sell
it as a high-quality program, since some had sarcastically referred to it as 60 Minutes, Jr.
CBS News president Andrew Heyward said, "The Roman numeral II created some
confusion on the part of the viewers and suggested a watered-down version".[34]
However, a widely-known controversy which came to be known as "Rathergate,"
regarding a report that aired September 8, 2004, caused another name change. The show
was renamed 60 Minutes Wednesday both to differentiate itself and to avoid tarnishing
the Sunday edition, as the editions were editorially independent from one another. The
show reverted to its original title with Roman numerals on July 8, 2005, when the show
moved to a Friday night 8pm ET timeslot to finish its run. Its last broadcast was on
September 2, 2005.
International versions
Australia
Main article: 60 Minutes (Australian TV program)
The Australian version of 60 Minutes premiered on 11 February 1979. It still airs each
Sunday night at 7:30pm on the Nine Network and affiliates.
Reporter Richard Carleton suffered a heart attack on 7 May 2006. He asked a question at
a news conference for the Beaconsfield Mine collapse, then walked out and suffered
cardiac arrest. Paramedics tried to revive him for 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived,
but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Although they have the rights to the format, as of 2007 they do not have rights to the US
stories. Nevertheless, they often air them by subleasing them from Network Ten. In 1980
60 Minutes won a Logie Award for their investigation of lethal abuses at Chelmsford
psychiatric hospital in Sydney. On 16 September 2007, the Australian 60 Minutes did a
segment on French sport Parkour, which showcased famous traceurs Rhys James and
Shaun Woods.
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Germany
In the mid-1980s, an edited version (approx. 30 minutes in length) of the U.S. broadcast
edition of 60 Minutes was shown for a time on West German television. This version
retained the English-language soundtrack of the original, but also featured German
subtitles. This version may have been known as 30 Minuten.
New Zealand
Main article: 60 Minutes (New Zealand)
The New Zealand version of 60 Minutes has aired on national television since 1989,
when it was shown on TV3. In 1992 the rights were acquired by TVNZ, who began
broadcasting it in 1993. The network aired the program for nine years before dropping it
in 2002 for its own program, entitled Sunday. Sunday is currently the highest rating
current affairs show broadcast on New Zealand television, followed by 20/20. 60 Minutes
is now broadcast by rival network TV3.
Portugal
The Portuguese version of 60 Minutes airs on SIC Notícias and is hosted by Mário
Crespo.
Other versions
A short-lived Mexican version aired in the late 1970s.
A Peruvian version aired in the early 1980s, called 60 Minutos. However, in the late
1980s also existed a similarly named series, but unrelated to the series produced by CBS
News.
In 2004, Brazil's Rede Bandeirantes planned a licensed localized version, but the plan
was canceled.
CBS Television Studios is rumoured to be planning licensed localized versions for several
Latin American countries.
See also
This Hour Has Seven Days, which pre-dates 60 Minutes by a couple of years, was similar
in journalistic style and format
References
^ a b c d e CBS Interactive Inc, 60 Minutes: Milestones,
15
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/08/20/60minutes/main59202.shtml, retrieved
2007-05-22
^ Timely Donation From '60 Minutes', – CBS News
^ a b Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic
Books. p. 36. ISBN 0465041957.
^
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs/60_minutes_goes_hd_with_nominees_94810.
asp
^ Museum of Broadcast Communications streaming archive
^ (Madsen, 14)
^ Madsen 14
^ a b Madsen 15
^ Madsen 17
^ CBS Making 60 Minutes Available as Free Podcast – 9/20/2007 5:25:00 PM –
Broadcasting & Cable
^ '60 Minutes' may veto Clinton-Dole face-offs, Peter Johnson, USA Today, 6 May 2003.
^ "A Pound of Coffee?", Andy Rooney, CBS News, July 6, 2003.
^ Mike Wallace Retires From '60 Minutes,' CBS News, 14 March 2006.
^ "60 Minutes' Ed Bradley Dead At 65". CBS News. 2006-11-09.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/09/national/main2165871.shtml. Retrieved
2006-11-09.
^ Peter, Johnson, At '60 Minutes,' clock ticking on change,
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-08-10-media-mix_x.htm,
retrieved 2007-05-22
^ 66th Annual Peabody Awards Winners Announced
^ "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TVGuide.com.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/FallTV-CBS-premieres-1007227.aspx. Retrieved June 24,
2009.
^ http://www.automobile.com/audi-investigated-for-unintended-acceleration.html
^ Audi's Runaway Trouble With the 5000, Brock Yates. Washington Post Magazine,
December 21, 1986.
^ "Manufacturing the Audi Scare," Peter Huber.
^ "Judge Dismisses Apple Growers' Suit Against CBS". The New York Times. September
14, 1993.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4D61F31F937A2575AC0A96595
8260. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "A Federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit that apple
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growers in Washington State filed against CBS after "60 Minutes" broadcast a report
linking the chemical Alar to cancer. The report, broadcast Feb. 26, 1989, said the use of
Alar increased the risk of cancer in humans, particularly children, and cited a study by the
Natural Resources Defense Council."
^ Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard
from est to Exile. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 255–258. ISBN 0-312-09296-2.
^ believermag.comBelievermag.com retrieved 2007-10-21
^ "The Man Who Knew Too Much," Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair, May, 1996.
^ "I'd Rather Be Blogging: CBS stonewalls as 'guys in pajamas' uncover a fraud.", John
Fund, The Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2004.
^ abstract Another 60 Minutes' Apology on a Drug Smuggling Story", The Washington
Post, April 13, 1999
^ "Kennewick Man issue damages relationships", Antone Minthorn, Board of Trustees
Chairman Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, November 5, 1998.
^ Fabien, Ann, Bones of Contention,
http://www.common-place.org/vol-01/no-02/kennewick/kennewick-2.shtml, retrieved
2007-05-22
^ "Who Were The First Americans?", Michael D. Lemonick, Andrea Dorfman, TIME
Magazine, March 13, 2006.
^ "All in the Family: Who says 60 Minutes doesn't pay for interviews?", Bryan Preston
and Chris Regan, National Review, April 2, 2004.
^ NewsRoom Finland (2009-04-01) CBS's 60 Minutes airs photo of Finnish children as
"Russian hackers". Virtual Finland, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
^ a b Kaleva (2009-03-31) Amerikkalaisohjelma leimasi taivalkoskelaisnuoret
venäläisiksi nettirikollisiksi. (Finnish)
^ Helsingin Sanomat (2009-03-31) Amerikkalaisohjelma leimasi suomalaisnuoret
nettirikollisiksi. (Finnish)
^ Pamela, McClintoc, '60 Minutes' times 2,
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117905294.html?categoryid=14&cs=1, retrieved
2007-05-22
Book references
Who's Who in America 1998, "Hewitt, Don S." Marquis Who's Who: New Providence,
NJ, 1998. p. 1925.
Who's Who in America 1998, "Wallace, Mike." Marquis Who's Who: New Providence,
NJ, 1998. p. 4493.
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Madsen, Axel. 60 Minutes: The Power and the Politics of America's Most Popular TV
News Show. Dodd, Mead and Company: New York City, 1984.
Further reading
Coffey, Frank (1993) 60 Minutes: 25 Years of Television's Finest Hour Santa Monica, CA:
General Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN 1-881649-04-0 . With introduction by Don Hewitt.
External links
60 Minutes at the Internet Movie Database
60 Minutes at TV.com
U.S. version
CBS News podcast subscription page
60 Minutes podcast on iTunes Store
Australian version
Australia's 60 Minutes official website from Nine Network
60 Minutes (Australia) at the Internet Movie Database
New Zealand version
60 Minutes (New Zealand) at the Internet Movie Database
60 Minutes New Zealand official page
French version
France's 66 Minutes official website from the M6 website.
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