Don Hewitt
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Donald Shepard Hewitt (December 14, 1922 – August 19, 2009) was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating the CBS television news magazine ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' in 1968, which at the time of his death was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television. Under Hewitt's leadership, ''60 Minutes'' was the only news program ever rated as the nation's top-ranked television program, an achievement it accomplished five times. Hewitt produced the first televised presidential debate in 1960.


Early life

Hewitt was born in
New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
, the son of Frieda (née Pike) and Ely S. Hewitt (changed from Hurwitz or Horowitz). His father was a
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish immigrant from
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, and his mother's family was of
German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
descent.''The Tablet Magazine'': "Don Hewitt on His Judaism - The '60 Minutes' creator died today at 86. For the book 'Stars of David,' he talked about his religion." By Abigail Pogrebin
August 19, 2009
Hewitt's family moved to
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, shortly after his birth, where his father worked as a
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manager for the '' Boston Herald American''. His family later lived in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
. He graduated from New Rochelle High School, in
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
.


College and early career

Hewitt attended
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and started his
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
career in 1942 as head copyboy for the '' New York Herald Tribune''. He joined the
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in 1943 and served as a journalist for '' Stars and Stripes'' in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Hewitt later returned to sea as an
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
in the Naval Reserve. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
ended in 1945, Hewitt returned to his job as copyboy for the ''Tribune'', then worked for The Associated Press at a bureau in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. However, his wife Mary Weaver—whom he married while working in Memphis—wanted to go to New York City, so he moved back. (Website registration required.) Back in New York City, Hewitt started working at the E.W. Scripps Company-owned photo agency ACME Newspictures, which was later merged into co-owned news service United Press


Career at CBS News

Hewitt soon received a lucrative offer at the CBS
television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...
, which was seeking someone who had "picture experience" to help with production of television broadcast. He began working at its news division,
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
, in 1948 and was producer- director of the network's evening-news broadcast with Douglas Edwards for fourteen years. He was also the first director of '' See It Now,'' co-produced by host Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly which started in 1951; his use of "two film projectors cutting back and forth breaks up the monotony of a talking head, improves editing, and shapes future news broadcasts." In 1956, Hewitt was the only one to capture on film the final moments of the SS Andrea Doria as it sank and disappeared under the water. He directed the televised production of the first 1960 U.S. presidential candidate debate between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice-president Richard M. Nixon on September 26, 1960, at the CBS studios in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. It was the first presidential candidate debate ever televised. He later became
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
of the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...
with
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...
'', helming the broadcast of John F. Kennedy's assassination as the story developed. He then launched the eight-time
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning show ''60 Minutes''. Within ten years, the show reached the top 10 in viewership, a position it maintained for 21 of the following 22 seasons, until the 1999–2000 season. Hewitt was a primary figure in the televising of a 1996 ''60 Minutes'' documentary on the
tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
scandal involving the tobacco company Brown & Williamson, in which the program eventually reported the allegations of whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand. Initially wary of a lawsuit, Hewitt sided with CBS News management and killed the Wigand story by censoring the interview. After blowback, a more complete presentation of the story was allowed to air, but the handling of the issue remained "a dark, sorry period in the otherwise virtuous life of ''60 Minutes''." The overall scandal was the inspiration for the 1999 film '' The Insider''. Hewitt was portrayed in the film by Philip Baker Hall. Declining ratings at ''60 Minutes''—after decades of being in the top 10, the show had dropped in rankings to number 20—contributed to what became a public debate in 2002 about whether it was time for CBS to replace Hewitt at ''60 Minutes''. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Jeff Fager, producer of ''
60 Minutes II ''60 Minutes II'' (also known as ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' and ''60 Minutes'') is an American weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the origin ...
'', was being floated as a possible replacement, speculation that proved to be accurate. The show was still generating an estimated profit of more than $20 million a year, but the decline in viewership and profit meant the show could no longer "operate as an island unto itself, often thumbing its nose at management while demanding huge salaries and perquisites." Within a couple of years, Hewitt stepped aside as executive producer at the age of 81, signing a ten-year contract with CBS to be an executive producer-at-large for
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
. In January 2010, ''60 Minutes'' dedicated an entire show to the story and memory of Hewitt. In 2018, an internal CBS investigation found that in the 1990s Hewitt had been accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a former CBS employee over a period of years. CBS determined that the employee's allegations were credible and by 2018 had paid her over $5 million in settlements in exchange for her silence.


Personal life and death

Hewitt was married three times: *Mary Weaver with whom he had two sons: Jeffrey and Steven. * Frankie Teague Hewitt - American theater producer and founder of the Ford's Theatre Society who was responsible for restoring and reopening the historic site as a working theater. They had a daughter: Lisa Gabrielle Hewitt Cassara, former coordinating producer of the syndicated television show " A Current Affair"; and he adopted her daughter Jilian Childers from a previous marriage. * Marilyn Berger - American broadcast and newspaper journalist. Through Berger, Hewitt is the great-uncle of Rob Fishman. In March 2009, Hewitt was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
from which he died on August 19, 2009, at his home in Bridgehampton, New York.


Honors

*1987: Hewitt received the Paul White Award,
Radio Television Digital News Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dir ...
*1988: In addition to several
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
s given to ''60 Minutes'', Hewitt was given a personal
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
, for his accomplishments that have "touch dthe lives of just about every American." *1989: Inducted into The Television Academy Hall Of Fame *1992: Hewitt won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. *1993: Hewitt and ''60 Minutes'' were elected to the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. *2008: Hewitt was honored with Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism.


Bibliography

In 1985,
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
published ''Minute by Minute'' (), a look at the history of ''60 Minutes''. In 2001, PublicAffairs published ''Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television'' (), in which Hewitt chronicles his life as a newsman.


References


External links

* *
Don Hewitt
in ''Television in America: An Autobiography'', a series by CUNY TV * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Don 1922 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American expatriates in the United Kingdom American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television news producers Businesspeople from New Rochelle, New York Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) News & Documentary Emmy Award winners International Emmy Founders Award winners Peabody Award winners People from Bridgehampton, New York Television producers from New York (state) United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of World War II United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy reservists New Rochelle High School alumni