Tell Me A Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television.

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: Books - Review

TELL ME A STORY Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television BY DON HEWITT PUBLICAFFAIRS 2001, 255 PAGES, $26.00

This is the story of Don Hewitt, CBS, and especially "60 Minutes" With the network since 1948, he has "seen it all and done it all." This is a frank, honest look at Hewitt's personal life, his work in television, and, most importantly, his analysis of contemporary television. Hewitt "tells it straight" on "60 Minutes" and in this book. His original formula for "60 Minutes" was to tell a story with flair that would cause two reactions: "I didn't know that," and "that guy on `60 Minutes' [was] fascinating"

During World War II, Hewitt served as Merchant Marine editor for Stars & Stripes, and after the war he worked for the Associated Press and United Press. When he joined CBS-TV in 1948 and saw the studio, he "felt like Dorothy in the Emerald City" and never looked back.

Hewitt took his idea for "60 minutes" to then-president of CBS News Fred Friendly, who considered it to be terrible. When Richard Salant became president, Hewitt again proposed it. Salant did not like the idea either, but when he learned that Friendly had rejected it, he changed his mind--anything that Friendly was against, Salant was for. Thus, out of animosity, "60 Minutes" went into production.

Hewitt wanted to try a new type of personal journalism that was both compelling and entertaining--a TV show that would entertain without compromising integrity. He decided to use a repertory company of journalists, each dedicated to a specific story, with no star, no master of ceremonies, and no music, but with a ticking clock as a trademark.

"60 Minutes" became a popular success in 1975, when it moved to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Since then, the award-winning program has been the number-one show in America four times and has remained in the top 10 for 22 years--the only news program that has ever been in the top 10. Hewitt attributes a large part of the show's success to his directing the broadcast towards the great middle class that "rights the ship of state when it starts to capsize."

The two most interesting sections of the book provide...