50 Years of 60 Minutes

Even if you haven’t flipped past CBS on Sunday night in a while, you probably know this sound …

“60 Minutes” is more than a staple of the CBS lineup. The weekly newsmagazine is a journalistic and broadcasting institution. It has broken major stories, hosted some of the most distinguished journalists on TV, won 138 Emmys and 20 Peabody Awards and it has drawn in countless viewers.

This year, it began its 50th season, meaning about 36,420 minutes have passed since the first episode aired in 1968.

Executive producer Jeff Fager chronicles all of this in his new book on the show’s history. He traces “60 Minutes” from the mind of creator Don Hewitt — who was producing documentaries he derisively called “hour-long snoozers” — to its current iconic status.

GUESTS

Jeff Fager, Executive producer, 60 Minutes; @JeffFager

Bill Owens, Executive editor, 60 Minutes

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