Tick... Tick... Tick...: The Long Life & Turbulent Times of 60 Minutes

by David Blum

The story of how CBS's 60 Minutes grew from a little network experiment into a Sunday-night-at-seven addiction for most of the country would itself make a raucous and typically compelling 60 Minutes episode. Or, maybe, an opera, complete with rival tenors, backstage intrigues, imperious divas, vulnerable ingenues, tragic deaths, a handful of big and small wars, and a brilliant if maniacal maestro running the whole production. For two years, author David Blum talked to everybody connected to 60 Minutes , and, incredibly, everybody talked to him -- about themselves, about the show, about one another. Blum's unprecedented inside access takes us into story meetings, blood-on-the-wall editing sessions, turf wars, and to the heart of the rivalries and the myths -- who got hired, who got fired, who got screwed -- going as far back as theearliest black-and-white days. In a history that spans four decades, 60 Minutes has piled up an encyclopedic list of it has aired fourteen-hundred-plus times, hauled in a profit of two billion dollars for CBS, finished in TV's top ten for twenty-two consecutive seasons, and garnered sixty-eight Emmy Awards. In the process, producer-guru Don Hewitt's beloved "tigers" -- correspondents Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Lesley Stahl, Steve Kroft, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Meredith Vieira, the late Harry Reasoner, and cranky essayist Andy Rooney -- have become brand names and media demigods. Hidden cameras, "gotcha" interviews, in-your-face confrontational journalism -- this is where it all began. And thirty-six years later, Hewitt's still there, pounding his desk, swearing at his tigers (most of whom are also still there), and holding in his tightly clenched fist the patent on the mother of all magazine shows. Or, rather, he was, until just recently, when a bunch of younger guys in suits decided it was time to take 60 Minutes away from its eighty-one-year-old boss. The changes, the innovations, the stop-the-presses big stories -- for Hewitt, and maybe a couple of the others -- are, at last, winding down. But the story of the most successful and contentious program in TV history is not over the new guys are settling in and the future is up for grabs.

Genres: Journalism, Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2004

Reviews

[Ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

60 Minutes has been on the air nearly 40 years, and as readers near the end of this behind-the-scenes history of the stalwart newsmagazine, they might feel as if they’ve been reading about it just as long. Blum writes for Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal and other national publications, and (perhaps unintentionally) captures the famished, breathless tone of a celebrity-driven feature story.

Using interviews and the numerous books, articles and memoirs about the show and its correspondents, Blum tells the epic tale. Don Hewitt began as a merchant marine reporter, came to CBS News and launched his dream show as part of the new Tuesday night lineup in September 1968. Although initial critical response was positive, ratings remained poor while the show struggled to establish its identity. By the mid-’70s, however, the producers’ investigative journalism had grabbed viewers’ attention, and as the audience grew, so did the cast. Blum weaves backstories about Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace (the original front-of-camera team) with relentless administrative squabbles between Hewitt and network honchos, and the cycles of professional ambition and personal egotism are regular and monotonous. Blum attempts to give shape to the ongoing drama of outsized personalities (many come off as predictably power hungry or disingenuously careerist), but the energy dissipates long before book’s end. Photos.

Blum begins with the retirement party for Don Hewitt, the egotistical 60 Minutes executive producer who dreamed up the idea behind the most popular television news show and who managed to stay at the helm until recently. Despite on-air camaraderie, the show has been a rancorous place to work, plagued by Hewitt's wild ideas and insults, balanced by his desire for hard-hitting journalism. The show pioneered news-gathering techniques, including hidden cameras and "gotcha" interviews. Aggressive reporting by Mike Wallace and others provoked lawsuits by the tobacco industry and General Westmoreland.

This is a compelling, behind-the-scenes look at the rise of Hewitt and 60 Minutes, including the illustrious careers of the show's correspondents: Wallace, Morley Safer, Dan Rather, Ed Bradley, Diane Sawyer, and others. Blum details the clash of egos and personalities, the individual quirks of the on-air luminaries and their producers, and the ongoing battles with management at CBS, all against the backdrop of 36 years of domestic and international news coverage. Readers interested in the workings of television news shows will thoroughly enjoy this book.

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

the stories about the peoples that work at 60 minutes.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, great book. But it's the story of a great show and its history. Don Hewitt, executive producer of '60 Minutes,' literally created television news as the first ever television producer at CBS News. You have Mike Wallace and the rest of the '60 Minutes' crew literally inventing how you do good television since 1968. 1968! I stopped watching after Mike Wallace left b/c, what was the point? But this book talks about the show's creation, history, turbulent times (which was ALL the time!) of the correspondents. You have this unique environment of antagonism, conflict, but complete freedom to create that made the show one of the highest-rated television shows ever. I wish I could grow up to be interview by Mike Wallace, but that's another lost childhood dream (also wanted to be interview by Tim Russert on "Meet the Press," oh well).

I just will always remember growing up, on Sunday nights, watching Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft, Leslie Stahl...all them, and Andy Rooney, on tonight's "60 Minutes." Tick...tick...tick...

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turbulent times at the 60 Minutes screening room, indeed! :D
Gripping stories behind the most notable segments they have aired, and anecdotes on the correspondents in front and behind the camera.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed 60 Minutes and this book (published in 2005) offers a rare glimpse into the "behind the scenes" of the show from its inception. If you are a 60 Minutes fan, I recommend you pick it up. I don't think you'll be sorry.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I never knew 60 minutes had such a history.

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview of a programme Ive never seen a full episode of but would very much like to now.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book in that it provided amazing insight into what is an unbelievably cutthroat industry behind the scenes of what has been an incredibly successful newsmagazine.