60 Minutes Creator Don Hewitt, 86, Dies

TV legend directed Cronkite, Murrow in nearly 60 years at CBS
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2009 11:48 AM CDT
60 Minutes Creator Don Hewitt, 86, Dies
In this 2004 file photo, Don Hewitt, the creator of CBS' "60 Minutes" news program, is shown in New York.   (AP Photo)

Don Hewitt, one of the pioneers of TV news, died today at 86 of pancreatic cancer, CBS reports. Hewitt all but invented television news over the course of his more than 60-year career, directing legends Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. He was behind the 1968 launch of 60 Minutes, and directed the first televised presidential debate—something he later came to regret, believing it started a corrosive relationship between politicians and TV.

Hewitt, inspired by Life magazine, took the then-standard hour-long documentary format and broke it into three mini-documentaries with 60 Minutes. By its second season, it was among the top 10 shows on television. Asked what the show’s secret was, Hewitt would always reply, “It’s the four words every child knows: Tell me a story.” (More CBS News stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X