Legendary news pioneer Don Hewitt
January 9th, 2011 | 
Author: Don Hewitt, a genius of broadcast news, has died Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at the age of 86. Don Hewitt had a passion for getting the best stories on air, and focused much of his career on creating the television magazine “60 Minutes.”
He was also best known for making TV an essential part of politics. Don Hewitt produced and directed the first televised U.S. presidential candidate debate. The debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon was watched by more than 70 Americans back in 1960.
Vote: Is Done Hewitt the best TV producer ever?
Mr. Hewitt made his debut with the popular television show “60 Minutes” in 1968. He produced the show until his retirement in 2004. He turned correspondents such as Mike Wallace, Diane Sawyer and Morley Safer into recognizable stars. The program, with its trademark ticking stopwatch, reached its peak of 40 million viewers in the early 1980s. It was also one of the highest-rated prime-time series ever.
Don Hewitt had a remarkable system on how to get the best stories on the air. He?d have producers stay on top of current events and submit a “blue sheet” when they wanted to propose an idea. They?d jot down a few sentences on a blue sheet of paper, on what the story was about, and the best reason it should be on TV. Then, you would put your name on it, the date and time you submitted the story, and Mr. Hewitt would give you a thumbs up or thumbs down on the idea.
The lesson Don Hewitt would teach is to be relentless when searching for the truth in a story, and always present it with style.
Originally published here.
Dave Perk
Posted in Broadcast News Articles