Stopped Ticking

Don Hewitt, the man who decided the perfect ending to the weekend was to be admonished by a deranged old man with eyebrows that could conceal firearms about something no one else on the planet cares about, has died at the age of 86. Following the death of Walter Cronkite, it appears to be dangerous days for the giants of CBS journalism, so at least Dan Rather is safe. As a news director and producer, he helped shape the careers and broadcasts of Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and Douglas Edwards, and guided coverage of the Nixon-Kennedy debate, JFK’s assassination and the NASA program of the 1960s, but he’s best known for creating the definitive news magazine in 60 Minutes. Luckily, he came up with the concept in an era when investigative journalism meant more than Chris Hansen walking into the kitchen and disappointing middle aged guys who’ve never see an episode of Law & Order : SVU. The show brought together skilled interviewers and reporters to alternate between catching Watergate conspirators and cigarette manufacturers and revealing interviews with celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Larry the Cable Guy. By showing how non-scripted programming and hidden cameras could be hugely profitable with minimal overhead, Hewitt helped usher in reality TV, a crime no number of Emmys could conceal.