60 Minutes (TV show)
"60 Minutes" is a long-running television newsmagazine program that first aired in 1968 on CBS. Created by producer Don Hewitt, it was designed to feature shorter, more personal stories compared to traditional documentaries. Initially struggling in the ratings, "60 Minutes" shifted its focus towards investigative journalism, which proved effective in attracting a larger audience. Correspondents like Morley Safer and Mike Wallace tackled important issues such as gun control and corporate malfeasance, earning a reputation for hard-hitting, in-depth reporting.
The program's move to a Sunday evening time slot in 1972 significantly boosted its viewership, ultimately placing it among the top-rated shows on television by the late 1970s. Its success demonstrated that quality journalism could coexist with commercial viability, setting a precedent for future newsmagazines. Over its storied run, "60 Minutes" became the longest-running regularly scheduled primetime broadcast in television history, influencing many subsequent programs in the genre. Today, it remains a revered institution in American journalism, known for its impactful storytelling and commitment to uncovering the truth.
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Subject Terms
60 Minutes (TV show)
Identification Television news>magazine program
Date Began airing in 1968
By the end of the 1970s, 60 Minutes was one of the top-rated programs on network television. Its success proved television news could be popular and profitable while retaining its journalistic integrity.
In 1970, 60 Minutes was in its second season on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and continued to search for its identity. As conceived by producer Don Hewitt, the program was the broadcast equivalent of Life magazine, featuring stories that were shorter in form and more personal in tone than the typical television documentary. While critics praised the new newsmagazine program, 60 Minutes finished last in the ratings at the end of 1970.
The show’s correspondents began focusing on investigative journalism in the hope of attracting viewers. Morley Safer reported on the lack of gun control regulation and revealed how people were trying to avoid paying taxes by becoming ministers in a questionable church. Dan Rather exposed a corporation producing a toxic insecticide and a meat-packing company placing phony labels on its products. Mike Wallace showed how the Ford Pinto’s gas tank could explode in a rear-end accident. The Pinto segment caused Ford Motor Company, one of the program’s sponsors, to pull its ads for a week. These and other investigative reports proved popular with viewers and earned 60 Minutes a reputation for tough, in-your-face journalism. Safer once joked that a crook did not feel he was really a crook until his story appeared on 60 Minutes.
The program also benefited from a change in scheduling. 60 Minutes initially aired on Tuesday nights, and in 1972, it moved to Sunday at 6 p.m. On December 19, 1976, the program began airing one hour later, competing with children’s programs on rival networks. The 7 p.m. time slot gave 60 Minutes a lock on the adult audience and a significant ratings boost.
By the end of 1979, 60 Minutes placed among the ten highest-rated shows on television. The program was equally popular with advertisers. It became the first program in television history to retain the independence of a news show while garnering the income of an entertainment program.
Impact
The commercial and popular success of 60 Minutes, combined with the professional quality of its reporting, belied the conventional wisdom that television news shows could not be popular moneymakers and tout good journalism simultaneously. The show became a model for subsequent newsmagazine programs, such as Dateline and 20/20. 60 Minutes became the longest-running, regularly scheduled primetime broadcast in television history.
Bibliography
Blum, David. Tick, Tick, Tick: The Long Life and Turbulent Times of “60 Minutes.” New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
Coffey, Frank. “60 Minutes”: Twenty-five Years of Television’s Finest Hour. Santa Monica, Calif.: General, 1993.
Hewitt, Don. Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and “60 Minutes” in Television. New York: Public Affairs, 2001.
Jackman, Ian, ed. Con Men: Fascinating Profiles of Swindlers and Rogues from the Files of the Most Successful Broadcast in Television History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Madsen, Axel. 60 Minutes: The Power & the Politics of America’s Most Popular TV News Show. Dodd, Mead, 1984.