60 Minutes: Difference between revisions

| list_episodes = List of 60 Minutes episodes

| related = [[60 Minutes (Australian TV program)|''60 Minutes'' (Australia)]]<br />[[60 Minutes (New Zealand TV programprogramme)|''60 Minutes'' (New Zealand)]]<br />''[[48 Hours (TV seriesprogram)|48 Hours]]''<br />''[[Face the Nation]]''<br />''[[CBS News Roundup]]''

The program employed a magazine format similar to that of the Canadian program ''[[W5 (TV series)|W5]]'', which had premiered two years earlier. It pioneered many of the most important [[investigative journalism]] procedures and techniques, including re-editing interviews, hidden cameras, and "[[gotcha journalism]]" visits to the home or office of an investigative subject.<ref name="'70s">{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/36 36]|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York City, New York|isbn=0-465-04195-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/36}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodReporter2013">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/secret-world-behind-60-minutes-435629/ |title=The Secret World Behind ’60'60 Minutes’Minutes' |first=Marisa |last=Guthrie |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=April 10, 2013 }}</ref> Similar programs sprang up in Australia and Canada during the 1970s, as well as on local television news.<ref name="'70s"/>

===Effects from the Prime Time Access Rule and Laterlater Yearsyears===

This proved somewhat less than satisfactory, however, because in order to accommodate [[NFL on CBS|CBS telecasts]]' telecasts of late afternoon [[National Football League]] (NFL) football 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|Heidi Bowl]]" incident on [[NFL on NBC|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 program back onto the prime time schedule proper, on Fridays in 1973 and Sundays the two years thereafter, as a replacement for programs aired during the regular television season.

It was only when the FCC returned an hour to the networks on Sundays (for news or family programming), which had been 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 the family-oriented drama ''[[Three for the Road (TV series)|Three for the Road]]'' ended after a 12-week run in the fall, the news magazine took its place at 7:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time (6:00&nbsp;p.m. Central) on December 7, 1975, and has been aired at that time since then, making it 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 television|morning news-talk]] shows) broadcasting for the longest length of time at a single time period each week in U.S.US television history.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}}

This move, and the addition of then-[[The White House|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 historically poor ratings performances of documentary programs on network television. By 1976, ''60 Minutes'' became the top-rated program on Sunday nights in the U.SUS. By 1979, it had achieved the #1 spot among all television programs in the [[Nielsen ratings]], unheard of before for a news broadcast in prime time. This success translated into great profits for CBS; advertising rates increased from $17,000 per 30-second spot in 1975 to $175,000 in 1982.<ref>Madsen, p. 17</ref>

The program sometimes does not start until after 7:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern, due largely to [[CBS Sports]] live sporting events. At the conclusion of an NFL game, ''60 Minutes'' will air in its entirety and delay all subsequent programs. However, in the Pacific time zone, ''60 Minutes'' is always able to start at its scheduled time as live sports coverage ends earlier in the afternoon. The program's success has also led [[CBS Sports]] to schedule events (such as the final round of the [[Masters Tournament]] and the [[PGA Championship]] and the second round and regional final games of the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA men's basketball tournament]]) leading into ''60 Minutes'' and the rest of the network's primetime lineup for the night (as CBS never airs any sports programming on Sundays in primetime except for the AFC Divisional Round, AFC Championship Game, or the [[Super Bowl]]).

Starting in the 2012–2013 season, in order to accommodate a new NFL scheduling policy that the second game of a doubleheader start at 4:25&nbsp;p.m., CBS changed the scheduled start time of ''60 Minutes'' to 7:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern time (or game conclusion) for Eastern and Central Time Zone stations which are receiving a game in that window. The start time remains at 7:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern/Pacific (or game conclusion if a late single game is airing in the eastern markets) on stations which are not broadcasting a late game in a given week (or for Western time zones even if a Doubleheaderdoubleheader airs) .<ref>{{cite news| title=CBS Responds to NFL Doubleheaders by Pushing Sunday Series Back 30 Minutes |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/good-wife-mentalist-amazing-race-premieres-schedule-nfl-369481| last= O'Connell| first=Michael|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=September 11, 2012}}</ref> InSince the 2023–2024 season, the show began to have occasional 90 -minute episodes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/for-several-episodes-this-fall-60-minutes-will-become-90-minutes/ | title=For several episodes this fall, '60 Minutes' will become 90 minutes - CBS Texas | website=[[CBS News]] | date= September 16, 2023 | accessdate= }}</ref>

''60 Minutes'' is also simulcast on several former [[CBS Radio]] flagship stations such as. [[KYW-WBBM (AM)|KYWWBBM]] in PhiladelphiaChicago, [[WBBMKRLD (AM)|WBBMKRLD]] in Dallas, [[ChicagoWWJ (AM)|WWJ]] in Detroit, [[WWJKNX (AM)|WWJKNX]] in Los Angeles, [[DetroitKYW (AM)|KYW]] in Philadelphia, [[KCBS (AM)|KCBS]] in [[San Francisco]] (all owned by [[Audacy, Inc.]]) and
[[WBZ (AM)|WBZ]] in [[Boston]] (owned by [[iHeartMedia]]). Anchorage-based station [[KFQD]] airs ''60 Minutes'' as part of its affiliation with local CBS station [[KAUU]]. When it airs locally on their sister CBS Television Network affiliate, even in the Central and Eastern time zones, the show is aired at the top of the hour at 7:00&nbsp;p.m./6:00&nbsp;p.m. Central (barring local sports play-by-play pre-emptions and breaking news coverage) no matter how long the show is delayed on CBS Television, resulting in radio listeners often hearing the show on those stations ahead of the television broadcast. An audio version of each broadcast without advertising began to be distributed via [[podcast]] and the [[iTunes Store]], starting with the broadcast on September 23, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=CBS Making 60 Minutes Available as Free Podcast|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/cbs-making-60-minutes-available-free-podcast/30717|last=Weprin|first=Alex|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=September 20, 2007|access-date=March 29, 2012}}</ref> Video from ''60 Minutes'' (including full episodes) is also made available for streaming several hours after the program's initial broadcast on CBSNews.com and [[Paramount+]].

==="''Point/Counterpoint"'' segment===

For most of the 1970s, the program included ''Point/Counterpoint'', in which a [[liberalism|liberal]] and a [[conservatism|conservative]] commentator debated an issue. This segment originally featured [[James J. Kilpatrick]] representing the conservative side and [[Nicholas von Hoffman]]<ref name="sentinelsource.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.sentinelsource.com/opinion/my-gifted-counterpoint-on-minutes-wrote-like-an-angel-by/article_cf66570c-f7aa-5f2a-9b2f-b636f24420cd.html| title=My gifted counterpoint on '60 Minutes' wrote like an angel |last= Kilpatrick|first=James J.|date=July 5, 2005|work=[[The Keene Sentinel]]}}</ref> for the liberal, with [[Shana Alexander]]<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/shana-alexander-famed-for-point-counterpoint-dies/| title=Shana Alexander, famed for "'Point/Counterpoint,"' dies |last= McLellan| first=Dennis|date=June 26, 2005|work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref> taking over for von Hoffman after he departed in 1974.<ref name="sentinelsource.com"/> The segment was an innovation that caught the public imagination as a live version of competing editorials. In 1979, Alexander asked Hewitt to raise the $350 a week pay; Hewitt declined, and the segment ended.<ref name="sentinelsource.com"/>

''Point/Counterpoint'' was lampooned by the NBC comedy series ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', which featured [[Jane Curtin]] and [[Dan Aykroyd]] as debatersTV whonews reporters. Their segment featured a debate in comically complete abandonment of rhetorical decorum, with Aykroyd announcing the topic, Curtin making an opening statement, then Aykroyd typically retorting with [[ad hominem]] attacks, such as "Jane, you ignorant slut" and Curtin responding "Dan, you pompous ass";<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/point-counterpoint-lee-marvin-and-michelle-triola/2846665|title=Point Counterpoint: Lee Marvin and Michelle Triola| date= March 17, 1979|website=nbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/pictures/50-greatest-saturday-night-live-sketches-of-all-time-20140203/point-counterpoint-0207143| title= 50 Greatest 'SNL' Sketches of All Time |magazine= [[Rolling Stone]] |date= February 3, 2014|access-date=February 18, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180219090852/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/pictures/50-greatest-saturday-night-live-sketches-of-all-time-20140203/point-counterpoint-0207143|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the film ''[[Airplane!]]'' (1980), in which the ''faux'' Kilpatrick argues in favor of the plane crashing, stating "they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into"; and in an earlier [[sketch comedy]] film, ''[[The Kentucky Fried Movie]]'', where the segment was called "Count/Pointercount".

A similar concept was revived briefly in March 2003 featuring [[Bob Dole]] and [[Bill Clinton]], former opponents in the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 presidential election]]. The pair agreed to do ten segments, called(titled "''Clinton/Dole"'' and "''Dole/Clinton"'' in alternating weeks), but these did not continue into the 2003–2004 fall season. Reports indicated that the segments were considered too gentlemanly, in the style of the earlier "''Point/Counterpoint"'', and lacked the feistiness of ''[[Crossfire (U.S. TV program)|Crossfire]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title='60 Minutes' may veto Clinton-Dole face-offs |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-05-06-media-mix_x.htm |last=Johnson|first=Peter|newspaper=[[USA Today]]| date=May 6, 2003| accessdate= }}</ref>

* [[Mike Wallace]] † (host, 1968–2006; correspondent emeritus 2006–2008)

* [[Harry Reasoner]] † (host, 1968–1970, 1978–1991)

* [[Morley Safer]] † (part-time correspondent, 1968–1970; host, 1970–2016)<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-morley-safer-dies-at-84/|title=60 Minutes' Morley Safer Dies At 84|work=[[CBS News]]|date=May 19, 2016|access-date=May 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221022822/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-morley-safer-dies-at-84/|archive-date=February 21, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

* [[Ed Bradley]] † (part-time correspondent, 1976–1981; host, 1981–2006)<ref>{{cite news|title=Tributes To Trailblazer Ed Bradley|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tributes-to-trailblazer-ed-bradley/|last=Filo|first=John P.|work=[[CBS News]]|date=November 9, 2006|access-date=November 9, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117210746/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/09/national/main2165871.shtml|archive-date=November 17, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

* [[Bob Simon]] † (1996–2015)<ref>{{cite news|title=Bob Simon of '60 Minutes' killed in car crash|url=https://nypost.com/2015/02/11/60-minutes-bob-simon-killed-in-car-crash/|last=Celona|first=Larry|work=[[New York Post]]|date=February 11, 2015|access-date=February 14, 2015}}</ref>

* [[Walter Cronkite]] † (1968–1981)

* [[Charles Kuralt]] † (1968–1979)

* [[Roger Mudd]] † (1968–1980)

* [[Bill Plante]] † (1968–1995)

* [[Eric Sevareid]] † (1968–1969)

* [[Marlene Sanders]] † (1978–1987)

* [[Charles Osgood]] † (1981–1994)

On March 3, 1991, ''60 Minutes'' broadcast "[[Werner Erhard]]," which dealt with controversies involving Erhard's personal and business life. A year after the ''60 Minutes'' piece aired, Erhard filed a lawsuit against CBS, claiming that the broadcast contained several "false, misleading and defamatory" statements about him. One month after filing the lawsuit, Erhard filed for dismissal.<ref name="docket">''Werner Erhard vs. Columbia Broadcasting System'', (Filed: March 3, 1992) Case Number: 1992-L-002687. Division: Law Division. District: First Municipal. [[Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County|Cook County Circuit Court]], Chicago, Illinois.</ref> Erhard later told [[Larry King]] in an interview that he dropped the suit after receiving legal advice telling him that in order to win it, he had to prove not only that CBS knew the allegations were false but also that CBS acted with [[Malice (law)|malice]].<ref name=Westword>{{cite magazine|title=It Happens|url=http://www.westword.com/1996-04-18/news/it-happens/8|last=Jackson|first=Steve|magazine=[[Westword]]|date=April 18, 1996|access-date=March 29, 2012|archive-date=June 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629105950/http://www.westword.com/1996-04-18/news/it-happens/8/|url-status=dead}}</ref> After numerous independent journalists exposed untruths and factual inaccuracies in the story<ref>The Story of Our Lives, Vanora Bennett, The London Times, Saturday, July 15, 2000</ref><ref>Est Is Back, More Popular Than Ever, Oliver Libaw, ABC News, August 13, 2002</ref> the segment was removed by CBS from its archives, with a disclaimer: "This segment has been deleted at the request of CBS News for legal or [[copyright]] reasons."<ref>{{cite web|title=est, WERNER ERHARD, AND THE CORPORATIZATION OF SELF-HELP|url=http://www.believermag.com/issues/200305/?read=article_snider|last=Snider|first=Suzanne|work=[[Believer Magazine]]|date=May 2003|access-date=April 7, 2008|archive-date=October 20, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020065458/http://www.believermag.com/issues/200305/?read=article_snider|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1999, a second edition of ''60 Minutes'' was started in the United States, titled ''60 Minutes II''. This edition was later renamed ''60 Minutes'' 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".<ref>{{cite news|title='60 Minutes' times 2|url=https://www.variety.com/article2004/scene/markets-festivals/60-minutes-times-2-1117905294/VR1117905294.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|last=McClintoc|first=Pamela|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 19, 2004|access-date=May 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103014825/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117905294.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|archive-date=November 3, 2007|url-status=deadlive}}</ref> However, a widely known controversy which came to be known as "[[Killian documents controversy|Rathergate]]", regarding a report that aired on September 8, 2004, caused another name change. The program was retitled ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' both to differentiate itself and to avoid tarnishing the Sunday edition, as the editions were editorially independent from one another. It reverted to its original Roman numeral title on July 8, 2005, when the program moved to Fridays in an 8:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time slot to finish its run. The show aired its final broadcast on September 2, 2005.

[[Category:Peabody Award-winningAward–winning television programs]]