Dan Rather is returning to CBS News.
Nearly 20 years after stepping down as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, and 18 years after he last appeared on the network, the anchor will return to a CBS program. This time, he will be the subject of an interview on CBS Sunday Morning.
Per a release from CBS, “Lee Cowan talks with former CBS News anchor Dan Rather about his work at CBS and his life in news.”
A source confirms that it will be Rather’s first appearance on a CBS News program since he formally left the network under tumultuous circumstances nearly two decades ago.
Rather said that he was the scapegoat in a scandal over a 2004 report for 60 Minutes II on then-President George W. Bush’s military record, and the anchor subsequently sued the network for breach of contract. The 60 Minutes spin-off was canceled less than a year later.
Nearly 20 years after stepping down as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, and 18 years after he last appeared on the network, the anchor will return to a CBS program. This time, he will be the subject of an interview on CBS Sunday Morning.
Per a release from CBS, “Lee Cowan talks with former CBS News anchor Dan Rather about his work at CBS and his life in news.”
A source confirms that it will be Rather’s first appearance on a CBS News program since he formally left the network under tumultuous circumstances nearly two decades ago.
Rather said that he was the scapegoat in a scandal over a 2004 report for 60 Minutes II on then-President George W. Bush’s military record, and the anchor subsequently sued the network for breach of contract. The 60 Minutes spin-off was canceled less than a year later.
- 4/25/2024
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dan Rather isn’t often rendered speechless. The TV news icon is always quick with a quip or a turn of phrase. There’s even a word for them: “Ratherisms.” Anyone who ever watched the anchor during a live news event knows them well; things like, “This race is tight — like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach.”
But on this mild March afternoon in Austin, Texas, Rather is rather tongue-tied. The producers and director behind the upcoming documentary “Rather” have just screened the completed film for the former anchor and his family and friends. Turns out it’s not easy to articulate what it’s like to witness the span and scope of your life’s work on the big screen.
“It’s going to take me a while to really process what we’ve just seen,” Rather says to the small audience gathered for the private first look.
But on this mild March afternoon in Austin, Texas, Rather is rather tongue-tied. The producers and director behind the upcoming documentary “Rather” have just screened the completed film for the former anchor and his family and friends. Turns out it’s not easy to articulate what it’s like to witness the span and scope of your life’s work on the big screen.
“It’s going to take me a while to really process what we’ve just seen,” Rather says to the small audience gathered for the private first look.
- 6/7/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
NEW YORK -- Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather said Thursday night that he wouldn't take a purely financial settlement with the megabucks lawsuit against his former employer.
In an interview Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Rather said that he was interested in finding out the truth about what he called the corporate and government pressures on investigative journalism in what became known as "Memogate". He said he would "absolutely not" take a purely financial package that doesn't cut to what he called the truth about what happened following the Sept. 8, 2004, report on 60 Minutes II on President Bush's military career that was later retracted.
Rather also said it wasn't about the $70 million in damages the lawsuit seeks, that most of any money received would go to organizations that promote investigative journalism.
"I'd like the legacy of this lawsuit not that I made tons of money out of it but that we kept the little flame, the flickering flame of hard-nosed investigative reporting alive," Rather said.
In an interview Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Rather said that he was interested in finding out the truth about what he called the corporate and government pressures on investigative journalism in what became known as "Memogate". He said he would "absolutely not" take a purely financial package that doesn't cut to what he called the truth about what happened following the Sept. 8, 2004, report on 60 Minutes II on President Bush's military career that was later retracted.
Rather also said it wasn't about the $70 million in damages the lawsuit seeks, that most of any money received would go to organizations that promote investigative journalism.
"I'd like the legacy of this lawsuit not that I made tons of money out of it but that we kept the little flame, the flickering flame of hard-nosed investigative reporting alive," Rather said.
- 9/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- As if CBS hadn't been rattled enough by legal flaps from shock jocks Howard Stern and Don Imus, a languishing newscast with Katie Couric as well as the controversial just-launched reality show Kid Nation, the network has been slapped with a $70 million lawsuit from former anchor Dan Rather.
Rather, whose decades-long career at CBS came to an inglorious halt over his role in a report criticizing President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, on Wednesday sued CBS, Viacom, its chairman Sumner Redstone, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and former CBS News president Andrew Heyward.
The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, argues that CBS violated Rather's contract by giving him insufficient airtime on 60 Minutes after summarily dismissing him as anchor of CBS Evening News in March 2005.
The suit claims that Rather was made a scapegoat by CBS and Viacom for business interests after the September 2004 airing of the controversial 60 Minutes II report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. The 32-page writ said the anchor was shunned and continually kept from defending himself from attacks inside and outside CBS. Rather claims that the independent panel investigating Memogate had close ties to President Bush's father and that he was compelled to apologize for the report, even though he wasn't directly involved in putting it together.
In the filing, Rather also describes how systematically, and painfully, he was sidelined by the CBS hierarchy while at 60 Minutes. He said he was "provided with very little staff support, very few of his suggested stories were approved, editing services were denied to him and the broadcasts of the few stories he was permitted to do was delayed and then played on carefully selected evenings when low viewership was anticipated."
Rather is seeking upward of $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. He said in a statement that he would donate most of whatever he might be awarded "to causes that will further journalistic independence."
CBS responded quickly to the lawsuit with a terse statement: "These complaints are old news, and this lawsuit is without merit."
Word of the lawsuit had spread like wildfire over the Internet and the wires by midday Wednesday; entertainment lawyers spent their afternoon readying their instant analysis for the newsies and print reporters. Comments ranged across the board, with some arguing that Rather had gotten a raw deal and others that it was nothing more than sour grapes.
For CBS, however, no one thought Rather's move would bode well.
Rather, whose decades-long career at CBS came to an inglorious halt over his role in a report criticizing President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service, on Wednesday sued CBS, Viacom, its chairman Sumner Redstone, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and former CBS News president Andrew Heyward.
The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, argues that CBS violated Rather's contract by giving him insufficient airtime on 60 Minutes after summarily dismissing him as anchor of CBS Evening News in March 2005.
The suit claims that Rather was made a scapegoat by CBS and Viacom for business interests after the September 2004 airing of the controversial 60 Minutes II report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. The 32-page writ said the anchor was shunned and continually kept from defending himself from attacks inside and outside CBS. Rather claims that the independent panel investigating Memogate had close ties to President Bush's father and that he was compelled to apologize for the report, even though he wasn't directly involved in putting it together.
In the filing, Rather also describes how systematically, and painfully, he was sidelined by the CBS hierarchy while at 60 Minutes. He said he was "provided with very little staff support, very few of his suggested stories were approved, editing services were denied to him and the broadcasts of the few stories he was permitted to do was delayed and then played on carefully selected evenings when low viewership was anticipated."
Rather is seeking upward of $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. He said in a statement that he would donate most of whatever he might be awarded "to causes that will further journalistic independence."
CBS responded quickly to the lawsuit with a terse statement: "These complaints are old news, and this lawsuit is without merit."
Word of the lawsuit had spread like wildfire over the Internet and the wires by midday Wednesday; entertainment lawyers spent their afternoon readying their instant analysis for the newsies and print reporters. Comments ranged across the board, with some arguing that Rather had gotten a raw deal and others that it was nothing more than sour grapes.
For CBS, however, no one thought Rather's move would bode well.
- 9/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Calling it a "sad, bloody story," veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace expressed regret about Dan Rather's departure from CBS but said Rather wasn't finished yet. "You wait and see, he's going to find his place," Wallace told a packed house Wednesday at the annual conference of PromaxBDA in New York. "We're going to be hearing from Dan. He's a superb reporter." Wallace and CNN host Larry King received the organizations' TV Century Awards. Wallace has in the past suggested that Rather should have resigned for his role in the discredited 60 Minutes Wednesday report on President Bush's military career that led to the firing of one producer and the forced resignations of four executives. But Wallace was much more conciliatory Wednesday, a day after Rather and CBS News parted ways.
- 6/21/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- CNN's Anderson Cooper will become a 60 Minutes contributor in the fall, reporting four or five stories to the landmark CBS show. Cooper will remain the headliner of Anderson Cooper 360, the two-hour late-night news show on CNN. He will contribute the 60 Minutes stories using a rotating group of producers while on his days off from CNN, with his first airing on CBS sometime after the new season begins in September. It's not the first time Cooper has worked with CBS. The former ABC News correspondent contributed stories to 60 Minutes II while it was on, and 60 Minutes had always wanted to retain him somehow.
NEW YORK -- When Bob Schieffer took over at the CBS Evening News a year ago tonight, it was supposed to be only a temporary assignment. The CBS News veteran had long ago thought the route to the anchor chair was closed to him. He had been passed over in 1980 when CBS looked to replace Walter Cronkite, and Dan Rather spent 24 years in the job. Schieffer worked in Washington, anchored the weekend evening news and, beginning in 1993, moderated Face the Nation. So he was as surprised as anyone when CBS chief Leslie Moonves asked him to come to New York to right the ship after the 60 Minutes Wednesday scandal and Rather's departure. But he did it, knowing his network needed him.
- 3/10/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- CNBC has hired former 60 Minutes Wednesday executive producer Josh Howard to lead its documentary unit in an expansion of the Peabody Award-winning programs on the business channel. After the discredited report on President Bush's military career that aired in early September 2004, Howard was one of four CBS News employees asked to resign following an independent panel's report; producer Mary Mapes was fired, and Dan Rather was forced to leave the anchor chair. CNBC president Mark Hoffman said he had met Howard eight years ago and had kept in intermittent contact with him since then. Sometime during the summer, months after Howard had left CBS News, the two reconnected and started talking about the job.
- 12/8/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Fired CBS News producer Mary Mapes claims she was a scapegoat at the network in the wake of what has come to be known as "Memogate", according to an excerpt of her new book to be published in the November issue of Vanity Fair. Mapes, an award-winning producer who uncovered the Abu Ghraib prison scandal earlier in 2004, described how her initial elation over a successful 60 Minutes Wednesday piece on President Bush's military career quickly turned sour as right-wing bloggers mounted an attack on the memos that she said had been cleared by two analysts. She said a "strong and reasoned defense" had been made on the next night's CBS Evening News but that one key source called the next day to say that he believed the documents were not real.
- 10/31/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Staff members at the canceled 60 Minutes Wednesday have begun learning their fates. It wasn't clear Thursday how many of the roughly 75 CBS News staff members assigned to 60 Minutes Wednesday would remain with the network. Ever since the show's cancellation was announced last week along with next year's CBS schedule, the network has said it would try to make room at other shows for the staffers affected. But it wasn't clear how many openings there were for talent or behind-the-scenes employees on the Sunday edition of 60 Minutes or elsewhere in the news division. CBS News president Andrew Heyward was unavailable for comment Thursday night. A CBS News spokesman declined to discuss how many cuts would be made or any details.
- 5/27/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS has integrated four new dramas and two comedies to its fall while dropping newsmagazine 60 Minutes Wednesday and dramas Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia. The eye network will retain its powerhouse Monday comedy block, moving Two and a Half Men to the 9 p.m. slot vacated by Everybody Loves Raymond, and strengthening the 8 p.m. hour by bringing The King of Queens back from its Wednesday home of the past two seasons. Monday 8:30 p.m. will see the launch of a new comedy How I Met Your Mother, while the 9:30 p.m. post-"Men" slot goes to Out of Practice, a new sitcom from Frasier veterans Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan. CSI: Miami stays put at 10 p.m. Tuesday remains status quo from 8-10 p.m. with drama NCIS and The Amazing Race leading into new 10 p.m. Jerry Bruckheimer drama Close to Home, starring Jennifer Finnigan as a prosecutor juggling work and family issues.
- 5/19/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- After months of speculation and one of the hardest years of any show in TV journalism, 60 Minutes Wednesday has been canceled by CBS. The 6 1/2-year-old show had come under an unprecedented assault for its flawed report on President Bush's National Guard service in the early 1970s, which led to an independent investigation, the forced departure of five longtime employees and Dan Rather stepping down from his CBS Evening News anchor chair. But from the network's perspective, 60 Minutes Wednesday had an even bigger problem: ratings. "This was a ratings call, not a content call," CBS chief Leslie Moonves said. "I know that was a question." He added that the report scandal had nothing to do with the cancellation, saying, "If '60 Minutes Wednesday' had a 10 rating, it would be on the air." Ratings had fallen 14% across the board, dropping from 9.9 million viewers last season to 8.5 million this year. It also was the oldest-skewing show on the network. It and three other shows have been swept aside in a youth movement, leaving 60 Minutes as the oldest program on CBS' schedule next year.
- 5/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Bolstered by the depth of its 2005 primetime series bench, CBS is stepping up its pursuit of younger viewers, replacing its oldest-skewing shows with six new series unveiled at its upfront presentation Wednesday at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. "CBS will remain the most dominant network for many, many years to come," CBS chairman Leslie Moonves assured the upfront crowd. "The playing field is not level, not by a long shot." Looking to build on its momentum from this season, the eye network canceled three of the programs attracting its most aged audiences: news magazine 60 Minutes Wednesday, veteran drama Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia, which initially drew buzz with its divinely inspired teen protagonist but struggled in its second season. Some of the series taking their places are aimed at lowering CBS' median age in primetime, which has hovered around 51 this season compared with around 52 last season. Friday in particular is part of the youth movement, pairing a new drama featuring 25-year-old actress Jennifer Love Hewitt as a medium who communicates with the dead, titled Ghost Whisperer, followed at 9 p.m. by Threshold, a sci-fi thriller about extra-terrestrials.
- 5/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS is integrated four new dramas and two comedies to its fall 2005 primetime lineup while dropping newsmagazine 60 Minutes Wednesday and dramas Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia. The eye network will retain its powerhouse Monday comedy block, moving Two and a Half Men to the 9 p.m. slot vacated by Everybody Loves Raymond, and strengthening the 8 p.m. hour by bringing The King of Queens back from its Wednesday home of the past two seasons. Monday 8:30 p.m. will see the launch of a new comedy How I Met Your Mother, while the 9:30 p.m. post-"Men" slot goes to Out of Practice, a new sitcom from Frasier veterans Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan. CSI: Miami stays put at 10 p.m. Tuesday remains status quo from 8-10 p.m. with drama NCIS and The Amazing Race leading into new 10 p.m. Jerry Bruckheimer drama Close to Home, starring Jennifer Finnigan as a prosecutor juggling work and family issues.
- 5/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- With thanks to two former colleagues who left CBS in the wake of a scandal, CBS News' Dan Rather accepted the Peabody Award on Monday for the 60 Minutes Wednesday story that exposed the shocking conditions inside Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. In one of his first public appearances since leaving the network's anchor chair in March, Rather and Mary Mapes accepted broadcast journalism's most prestigious honor at a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria in Midtown Manhattan. Rather took pains to acknowledge Mapes and former CBS News senior vp Betsy West (who also attended the ceremony), among others. Mapes was fired by CBS News and West was forced to resign in the wake of another 60 Minutes Wednesday report, which aired in September and used questionable documents as part of the sourcing for a highly critical report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.
- 5/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
WASHINGTON -- Dan Rather and Mary Mapes, the CBS News producer who was fired this year in connection with the 60 Minutes Wednesday segment about President Bush's National Guard service, have earned a Peabody Award for their earlier story for the newsmagazine that exposed the abuses committed by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The 32 winners of the 64th annual George Foster Peabody Awards, administered by the University of Georgia and announced Thursday in New York, include former NBC chief Grant Tinker, HBO's drama series Deadwood and Emmy-winning telefilm Something the Lord Made, CNBC for a documentary on Wal-Mart and Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart for its presidential campaign coverage called Indecision 2004.
NEW YORK -- Josh Howard, the 60 Minutes Wednesday exec producer whose first show included the fateful Memogate story, resigned from CBS News on Tuesday. Howard was one of three CBS News executives asked to resign in January after an independent panel's report found that CBS used questionable documents in its story that alleged President Bush received favored treatment when he was a Texas Air National Guard pilot in the early 1970s. The other two executives, CBS News senior vp Betsy West and senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy, resigned several weeks ago. But Howard had refused until Tuesday. In recent weeks, the two sides had been negotiating his exit, according to a source. No details were released. In a statement Tuesday, CBS News confirmed his resignation.
- 3/23/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- A CBS News staffer has filed an age-bias lawsuit against CBS in the latest fallout from September's "Memogate" controversy. Esther Kartiganer, 67, claimed in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that she also had been defamed in a statement made by CBS chairman Leslie Moonves. That statement accompanied the Jan. 10 independent panel report on a flawed story aired in September on 60 Minutes Wednesday about President Bush's military service in the early 1970s. Kartiganer had been senior producer of 60 Minutes Wednesday, part of a staff change that took place before the season premiere of the show. She said in her lawsuit that she was demoted from the position of senior producer of 60 Minutes when she was transferred to the Wednesday edition. Kartiganer said she was replaced by a woman 20 years younger.
- 3/10/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- When Dan Rather steps down as anchor of the CBS Evening News tonight, immediately at least he'll be remembered as much for the events of the past six months as the five decades of distinguished reporting that led up to what's known today as Memogate. But that doesn't take into account the 50-plus-year career as a broadcast journalist that has seen much triumph, associates and observers say. True, Rather's reputation has been badly strained by the 60 Minutes Wednesday report about President Bush's National Guard service in the 1970s that caused so much controversy in September and, after an independent panel's report, led to the ouster of four staffers at CBS News. In November, before the report was released, Rather decided to step down from the anchor desk, though he will remain at CBS News as a reporter for both editions of 60 Minutes. "It's a shame because, clearly, he'll be remembered for this," said Sam Roberts, a former CBS News executive who worked with Rather and is now a professor of broadcast journalism at the University of Miami. "But he should also be remembered for all the great work he did."...
NEW YORK -- The executive producer of "Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers" said Wednesday's retrospective of Rather's career doesn't flinch from what has become known as Memogate. Susan Zirinsky, the executive producer of 48 Hours who has known Rather for more than 30 years, said part of the hourlong broadcast will be devoted to the controversy following a flawed 60 Minutes Wednesday report on President Bush's military service. "We deal with it. Dan talks about it; we put it in the right perspective," Zirinsky said. She acknowledges, however, there won't be any new revelations. "There's nothing in this program ... that's going to shock any of you out there," she said. "Dan Rather was a journalist for some 50 years in broadcasting, and we had 43 years to put into 43 minutes. It's dealt with."...
UPN perked up considerably Wednesday, the final night of the February sweep, with the return of its reality franchise America's Next Top Model, but Fox nonetheless won the night by a comfortable margin with the Nielsen steroid injection of American Idol at 9 p.m. Law & Order also looked lively, topping CBS' CSI: NY in the 10 p.m. hour. ABC's Lost was a little off its recent game in the adults 18-49 demo but still easily took the opening hour of primetime with an average of 18.9 million viewers and a 7.0 rating/19 share in the demo, according to Nielsen Media Research. UPN's Top Model (5.1 million, 2.2/6) got off to a good start by UPN standards and actually beat its much older sibling broadcaster, CBS, in adults 18-49 with 60 Minutes Wednesday (7.4 million, 1.6/4).
Lost was lofty for ABC on Wednesday, but Fox lapped the primetime playing field again with another powerful performance from American Idol. Meanwhile, the seesaw competition between CBS' CSI: NY and NBC's Law & Order continued in the 10 p.m. hour, with the eye network's drama tops in the adults 18-49 demographic, while the peacock's stalwart had the advantage in total viewers. ABC got off to a strong start at 8 p.m., with Lost drawing 19.5 million viewers and a 7.5 rating/20 share in the adults 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen Media Research. CBS was a distant No. 2 in the hour in viewers with 60 Minutes Wednesday (9.4 million, 2.3/6). Fox continued to struggle with 8:30 p.m.'s The Simple Life: Interns (8.2 million, 3.6/9), which has not demonstrated the drawing power of the two previous incarnations of the Paris Hilton-Nicole Richie reality-comedy vehicle, and it lost ground from its 8 p.m. lead-in, That '70s Show (8.3 million, 3.8/10).
- 2/25/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- The three CBS News employees asked to resign following the 60 Minutes Wednesday controversy still have not turned in their resignations. CBS chief Leslie Moonves asked for the resignations of the three following a January report by an independent panel assigned to review a flawed news segment on President Bush's military service in the 1970s. The three -- senior vp Betsy West, 60 Minutes Wednesday exec producer Josh Howard and senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy -- have hired lawyers. CBS News has steadfastly refused to discuss the matter following Moonves' acknowledgement in January that the three hadn't resigned. Nothing had changed as of this morning. CBS had no comment, nor did a lawyer for West, reached Wednesday.
- 2/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ABC failed The Ultimate Love Test on Wednesday and didn't generate many Nielsen sparks with the return of The Drew Carey Show after more than a year on the shelf. ABC ran fourth for the night in total viewers (6 million) despite having more original programming than its Big Three competition, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. The 10 p.m. dating special Love Test fizzled with an average of 4.6 million viewers and 1.9 rating/6 share in the adults 18-49 demographic. Meanwhile, two fresh episodes of Drew Carey (5.8 million, 2.3/7) trailed Fox's repeats of That '70s Show (6.7 million, 3.4/10) CBS' encores of The King of Queens and Two and a Half Men (7.8 million, 2.4/7) and NBC's Law & Order rerun (10 million, 3.4/10) in the 9 p.m. hour. Fox won the opening hour of primetime in adults 18-49, also with repeats of '70s Show (6.7 million, 3.2/11) but CBS led in viewers with 60 Minutes II (8.8 million, 1.8/6). NBC had the most-watched program of the night with its regular 10 p.m. airing of Law & Order, a repeat that brought in 12.3 million, 3.9/11), which led the peacock to the nightly win in viewers (10 million), followed by CBS (8.6 million) but Fox nosed ahead in adults 18-49 (Fox's 3.3/11 to NBC's 3.2/10).
CBS News veterans Patti Hassler and Mary Murphy have been promoted to the No. 2 executive roles on 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II, respectively, as part of the post-Don Hewitt reorganization at the newsmagazines. Hassler has been named executive editor at 60 Minutes, where she'll succeed Josh Howard, who is moving up to executive producer of 60 Minutes II. Hassler has served as executive editor of 60 Minutes II for the past four years. Hassler will work closely with Jeff Fager, who will take the reins of 60 Minutes in June once creator/executive producer Hewitt steps down as planned at the end of the current season (HR 1/28/03). Fager is executive producer of 60 Minutes II. "If anybody's earned this spot, it's Patti," Hewitt said in announcing the promotion, which marks the first time a woman has held the No. 2 post at 60 Minutes. Fager called Hassler "an all-star player with '60 Minutes' for most of her adult life and a significant reason for the success of '60 Minutes II.' "...
- 3/29/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
60 Minutes will bid farewell to its creator, famed newsman Don Hewitt, with a special episode in May featuring clips and reminiscences from the newsmagazine's correspondents. The 81-year-old Hewitt is retiring at the end of the 2003-04 season as executive producer of the program, although he will remain at the network as a producer of news specials and adviser to CBS News president Andrew Heyward. Speaking to reporters Saturday at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour in Hollywood, Heyward said the tribute program is envisioned as Don's All-Time Greats, featuring clips of Hewitt's favorite segments together with commentary from Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and the rest of the 60 Minutes team. Hewitt's retirement has been a long time coming. He and the network engaged in a delicate dance for months that, at least on CBS' side, seemed aimed at prying him away from the flagship newsmagazine while keeping his dignity intact. His successor will be Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes II. Hewitt told the crowd that he was "not a happy camper" when first confronted with the idea of leaving the show he created in 1968. But when CBS offered a contract that would give him at least some continuing role in the network, he reconsidered. "What in the hell do you have to complain about?" he said he asked himself. "Nothing, absolutely nothing."...
- 1/18/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS News took home three of the four Emmys handed out on Thursday as part of the inaugural news and documentary awards for business and financial reporting. But the biggest winner of the luncheon may have been New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer, whose keynote speech drew consistent laughter from the National Television Academy audience in midtown Manhattan. CBS' 60 Minutes won two honors, for investigative reporting about the probe of a medical center and health care company -- and interpretative/analysis story, which focused, coincidentally, on Spitzer's aggressive investigations into Wall Street companies. 60 Minutes II was cited for coverage of a current news story for a segment about the online auction company eBay. PBS' Frontline snagged the final honor in the documentary category, also for a show about Wall Street's problems. NTA official William Small said the group decided to cite business stories as its own category because a lot of good reporting was going unrecognized.
- 12/5/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Josh Howard, a veteran producer at CBS News' 60 Minutes and a protege of several of the unit's most iconic figures, will take over the reins at 60 Minutes II in June, replacing Jeffrey Fager, who is moving over to head the venerable Sunday night newsmagazine, the company said. Howard's ascension surprised few inside the news business because of his close ties to Fager and other CBS executives, including Dan Rather, Mike Wallace and Don Hewitt, the founder of 60 Minutes, who is stepping down from the show after this season. Howard moved up to executive editor in June in a promotion that was widely seen as grooming him for the 60 Minutes II slot.
- 11/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fueled by Big Brother, CBS was the main draw Wednesday, winning the night in total viewers and adults 18-49, according to preliminary Nielsen data. A rerun of My Wife & Kids (9.5 million, 3.8/12 among adults 18-49) opened strong for ABC in the 8-9 p.m. hour, taking the time slot in 18-49. CBS' 60 Minutes II (10.2 million, 2.8/9) drew the net's largest audience. At 9 p.m., Big Brother (10.9 million, 4.2/12) was the top choice on TV, while a rerun of NBC's Law & Order (12.2 million, 4.1/12) took the honors at 10 p.m. For the night, CBS averaged 10.6 million viewers and a 3.6/10 in adults 18-49, followed by NBC (9.5 million, 3.2/9), ABC (8.3 million, 3.3/10) and Fox (6.2 million, 3.0/9).
- 9/19/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fox was hot on Wednesday with Paradise Hotel but CBS was hotter with Big Brother 4. Fox won the night in the adults 18-49 demographic (3.3 rating/11 share) thanks to 9 p.m. reality series Paradise (6.8 million viewers and 3.5/11 in adults 18-49) and 8-9 p.m. repeats of That '70s Show (6.3 million, 3.2/12) and The Simpsons (6 million, 3.0/10). CBS led the primetime pack in total viewers (9.2 million) and ranked No. 2 in the demo (3.0/10) with a steady performance throughout the night from 60 Minutes II (9 million, 2.4/9), Big Brother 4 (9.8 million, 3.9/12) and 48 Hours Investigates (8.7 million, 2.8/9). NBC got off to a slow start at 8 p.m. with Race to the Altar (4.7 million, 1.8/7) and the 9 p.m. West Wing rerun (5.2 million, 1.7/5) but things perked up with the 10 p.m. rerun of Law & Order (8.7 million, 3.1/9). ABC's highlight of the night was the spunk showed by the 8:30 p.m. repeat of George Lopez (7.5 million, 3.0/11) which has showed signs of blossoming into a significant player for ABC in its extensive rerun exposure this summer. ABC's lowlights were the second episode of The Real Roseanne Show (4.2 million, 1.8/5) and 10 p.m. reality series The Family (4 million, 1.8/6), which kept the network in last place for the night (5.1 million, 2.1/7).
- 8/14/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS News veteran Philip Scheffler is stepping down after 23 years as Don Hewitt's No. 2 at 60 Minutes, the network has announced. Scheffler, who will continue to consult for the news division, will be replaced as the newsmagazine's executive editor by longtime producer Josh Howard. Scheffler, who has spent his entire 52-year career at CBS News, was often overshadowed by Hewitt, the charismatic 60 Minutes creator who will step down as executive producer after the 2003-04 television season. Hewitt will be replaced by Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes II. But Scheffler has overseen the production and editing of every 60 Minutes report since 1980. While Hewitt has always supervised the show's overall content and look, Scheffler solved day-to-day problems and was a vital sounding board for the correspondents and producers. Scheffler also earned a footnote in broadcast news history by creating what CBS News calls the first crude TelePrompTer. He used a typewriter with extra-large type and wide adding machine paper to scroll news copy off-camera for anchor Douglas Edwards, whose first-ever network newscast debuted in 1948. "Everybody should be as lucky as I've been to have had Phil Scheffler at my side," Hewitt said in a statement. "He's as good an editor as I've ever worked with, and I can't think of anyone better to uphold the high standards he set for us than Josh Howard." Howard joined 60 Minutes in 1989 after working as a segment producer on CBS Evening News.
The return of The Bachelor gave ABC a lift on Wednesday even if the show's first half-hour was overshadowed by Fox's American Idol juggernaut. The Bachelor averaged 10.2 million viewers and 5.0 rating/12 share in the adults 18-49 demographic. The latest installment of the matchmaking franchise opened up with 8.9 million viewers and 4.1/10 at 9 p.m. against the second half-hour of Fox's 8:30-9:30 p.m. edition of Idol (20 million, 9.6/24). The Bachelor perked up to 11.5 million viewers and 5.8/14 from 9:30-10 p.m., even against formidable competition from Fox's 9:30 p.m. sitcom Wanda at Large, which pulled a respectable 13.9 million viewers and 6.6/16 in 18-49 in its second week on the air. NBC had a slow night all around -- even 10 p.m. time slot winner Law & Order (15.5 million, 5.5/15) was down a few notches from its usual Nielsen levels -- but the peacock nonetheless placed second for the night behind Fox (16.4 million, 7.9/20) with an average of 12.5 million viewers and 4.2/11 in the demo. ABC was held to third place for the night after getting off to a slow start at 8 p.m. with a rerun of My Wife and Kids (8.7 million, 3.2/9) and running a distant third at 10 p.m. with reality series All American Girl (5.5 million, 2.6/7). CBS also had a lackluster night with Star Search, 60 Minutes II and a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation rerun adding up to a nightly average of 10.1 million viewers and 3.0/8 in 18-49.
Helmer Brad Silberling will direct and produce Paramount Pictures' Lost Boys, a true story inspired by a 60 Minutes II segment. Outlaw Prods. also will produce. The news magazine segment, which aired last year, tells the real-life story of a group of young boys who 15 years ago saw their villages and families burn during Sudan's civil war. The boys, ages 7-11, began walking out of the region, and soon hundreds became thousands. Many died along the way as they walked across deserts and over mountains while eating wet mud and drinking their own urine to stay alive. In 1992, the emaciated children arrived at a refugee camp in Kenya, where they survived on one meal a day -- wheat flour and maize. In 2000, the U.S. government began bringing the now-grown boys to America, where they began new lives.
- 3/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Helmer Brad Silberling will direct and produce Paramount Pictures' Lost Boys, a true story inspired by a 60 Minutes II segment. Outlaw Prods. also will produce. The news magazine segment, which aired last year, tells the real-life story of a group of young boys who 15 years ago saw their villages and families burn during Sudan's civil war. The boys, ages 7-11, began walking out of the region, and soon hundreds became thousands. Many died along the way as they walked across deserts and over mountains while eating wet mud and drinking their own urine to stay alive. In 1992, the emaciated children arrived at a refugee camp in Kenya, where they survived on one meal a day -- wheat flour and maize. In 2000, the U.S. government began bringing the now-grown boys to America, where they began new lives.
- 3/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Saddam Hussein edged out Robert Blake as the February sweep ended Wednesday. Dan Rather's exclusive interview with the Iraqi leader -- Saddam's first with a foreign TV reporter in 12 years -- drove CBS' 60 Minutes II to its best-ever results in total viewers (17 million) and the key 18-49 demographic (5.2 rating/13 share), according to figures provided by Nielsen Media Research. The program won its 9 p.m. slot in both viewers and the demo. At 10 p.m., ABC heavily promoted Barbara Walters' 20/20 talk with Blake, the former Baretta star accused of murdering his wife (4.5/12, 12.2 million viewers). 20/20 handily beat CBS' 48 Hours Investigates (3.0/8, 9.2 million), which featured coverage of newly freed 1980s "preppie killer," Robert Chambers. But Blake wasn't a strong enough lure to topple the evening's most-watched show, NBC's Law & Order (7.2/19, 19.6 million).
- 2/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt said he believes CBS may be having "some second thoughts" about its reported plans to convince him to prepare for a transition to new leadership at the network's flagship news magazine. "I have a feeling -- my radar tells me that if I come back here a year from now, I will still be the producer of '60 Minutes, '" Hewitt told CNN's Larry King on Tuesday night, adding that "I have a feeling that whatever they've sort of decreed, I think they're having some second thoughts." In response to a question about what he would do if CBS moves to replace him, Hewitt replied, "I've already had two offers. ... I'm not going to die in a row boat. And I'm not going to die playing backgammon or even Scrabble. And if they don't want me, which is highly unlikely, somebody will." The story about Hewitt's future at CBS was first reported in the New York Times on Nov. 25. In that story, CBS News president Andrew Heyward said, "At the appropriate time, and I don't know when that is, I know Don will help ensure a smooth transition to a successor to keep this vital franchise alive for decades to come ... I hope he works here forever." Hewitt also told King that while "I'd love to phase in somebody. ... It's just that I'm not going to get off the stage. At least -- if CBS wants me off their stage, I'm going to go on somebody's stage." He said CBS has "a lot of very good people" who could eventually take his spot, but mentioned specifically only one: Jeffrey Fager, who holds the same job at 60 Minutes II. A CBS spokeswoman said, "We hope Don is here forever. That's where we stand."...
- 12/4/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ABC's romance reality series The Bachelor proved its demo win over NBC's The West Wing last week was not a fluke with another time slot victory among adults 18-49. ABC controlled the demo race from 8-10 p.m., but NBC's powerhouse Law & Order single-handedly erased ABC's lead and gave NBC the nightly win in the coveted demographic. ABC's My Wife & Kids (13.6 million viewers, 5.2/15) at 8 p.m. and George Lopez (12.7 million, 5.2/14) at 8:30 p.m. topped the 8-9 p.m. hour in total viewers and adults 18-49, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. NBC's Ed (10.3 million, 3.3/9) and CBS' 60 Minutes II battled it out for second place. The Bachelor (12.5 million, 5.9/15) at 9 p.m. was down 8% from last week in 18-49, but still overcame easily The West Wing (15.8 million, 5.1/13) in the demo, while NBC's White House drama got the popular vote in total viewers. CBS' The Amazing Race kept steady at 9.2 million viewers and a 3.8/10.
- 10/17/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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