Don Hewitt, the brilliantly contentious founder of 60 Minutes, saw to it that the most impactful characters in key segments turned out to be the “heavies.” Hewitt wanted his audience to understand the threat posed by “bad guys” — hence an ambush interview or some other dramatic confrontation.
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During his 37-year reign, Hewitt never would have imagined the list of alleged “bad guys” presently casting a shadow over his show. They include the principal stockholder of CBS, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a major sector of the legal establishment. Welcome to the Trump media universe, Don.
Last weekend 60 Minutes sent a defiant signal to the prospective “heavies,” who include Shari Redstone and FCC chairman Brendan Cox as well as The President. The nation’s highest rated TV news show announced it would not back off its coverage nor support financial appeasement of its adversaries. The show’s boss, Bill Owens, promptly resigned.
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His predecessor, Hewitt, who died in 2009, relished combat and made headlines with his 1996 battle against the tobacco industry. At stake was suppression of news coverage about the damage caused by smoking, the intrigues forming the basis for The Insider, Michael Mann’s 1999 whistle blower movie.
Hewitt had formidable ammunition in waging his wars. His ratings were strong, the network’s leadership divided. Besides, Hewitt had previously produced the revered Walter Cronkite news show as well as the riveting Kennedy-Nixon debate. His lethal interview squad included Mike Wallace, Harry Reasoner and, later, the famously resilient Lesley Stahl, who is still on the show.
They would all have laughed at Trump’s charge that the relatively mild-mannered Kamala Harris interview on 60 Minutes had been “deceptively edited” to help her campaign. Demands in new legal filings have now reached $20 billion in reparations.
Complicating the dispute, of course, is that other elephant in the room — Shari Redstone’s desire to facilitate the sale of Paramount to Skydance, David Ellison’s company. That $8 billion deal has been moldering for ten months with a mediator now involved.
Meanwhile, CBS is trying to draw attention to its gains in the stolid network business, announcing eight new series including a new Taylor Sheridan western drama.
And further hovering over the battle is the Trump strategy of targeting those law firms that represent litigants opposing White House programs. Trump’s actions are akin to “a mob boss extracting protection money,” observed Mark Elias, a top attorney who appeared on last week’s defiant 60 Minutes.
Long time viewers of 60 Minutes are understandably startled by these high level fireworks. During the show’s earlier years, the “bad guys” often consisted of neighborhood hustlers who overcharged for mythical auto parts, only to be shocked by a fast-moving TV crew. I remember one small time offender complaining on camera: “Why do you guys always put the ‘bad guys’ in ominous dark lighting while your ‘good guys’ seem to shine brightly?”
Mindful of this, I once asked for improved lighting when I was an invited guest on an in-house segment. The 60 Minutes producer winced and replied, “OK, we’ll re-light you as a good guy.” Production note: I was invited to talk brightly about theater critics, not auto parts. I doubt if today’s guests would fare as well.