27 Years Of Influential 60 Minutes :: essays research papers

27 Years of Influential 60 MinutesSince 1968 America has been better enlightened than previouslyconcerning current events and happenings around the world. A extensivefactor for this occurrence is the television program 60 Minutes which de preciselyedon the air in September of 1968. Many other television newsmagazines have beenproduced since its creation, stock-still none have possessed the longevity nor theinfluence of 60 Minutes. Infact, 60 Minutes, which is owned by CBS News, was thefirst constant network news program to plough actual stories asopposed to topics.Today, similar newsmagazines can be seen every night of the week on variousstations, all of whichwere sparked by the inception of 60 Minutes. All of the tag television programs being shown today are also a result of 60 Minutesand its bold, gutsy, "gotcha" style of television journalism. 60 Minuteschanged the way that the American public receives its television news, stemmingforth a whole new format of televisio n broadcast journalism.60 Minutes has a vast history of stories covered, to date the format hasremained unchanged. Don Hewett, creator and producer of 60 Minutes, has beenthe subject of much criticism for his stubbornness. Since its origin, 60Minutes has continued to adhere to the same formula that do it such a success.The hidden-camera interviews, the surprising of unsuspecting alleged crookswith a bombardment of questions, the longevity of the featured reporters, all ofthese are what made 60 Minutes a success--finishing in the top 10 Nielsonratings for 17 consecutive seasons and counting. Other than the fact that itchanged from black-and-white to color with the new technology, the appearance of60 Minutes has remained consistent. There is no reason to change a thing aboutsuch a prosperous show according to Hewitt. Not only has the format remainedconstant but the reporters have as sound. Mike Wallace, and Harry Reasoner bothappeared on the first episode of 60 Minutes. Reasoner, w ho passed away in 1991,left CBS in 1970 to pursue a news anchorpersoning position at ABC but later returnedto 60 Minutes, in 1978, until his death. Wallace and Morley Safer, who startedin 1970, are still featured reporters as well as Ed Bradley (who joined the teamin 1981) and newcomers Lesley Stahl and Steve Kroft. 60 Minutes would not bethe same without the weekly commentary of Andy Rooney. Rooney started making aregular appearance in 1978 offering humorous, sometimes controversialannotations about everyday life. A well known prime time TV news anchor who didmuch of his best work at 60 Minutes is Dan Rather.