Bob Schieffer, Leslie Moonves named to TV Hall of Fame
"Face the Nation" anchor Bob Schieffer and CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves were selected Wednesday to be inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.
"Each of this year's Hall of Fame inductees is incredibly deserving of this honor and is truly a legend of our industry," Bruce Rosenblum, Chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said in a press release.
Last year marked Schieffer's 55th year as a reporter and 43rd year at CBS News, where he has been a principal anchor since 1973. He anchored the "CBS Evening News" from March 2005 to August 2006, "an 18-month period that saw a substantial increase in viewers," the academy said. Schieffer has served as a moderator of CBS News' Sunday public affairs broadcast "Face the Nation" since 1991.
Schieffer said Wednesday he was "truly honored" to be named to the Hall of Fame.
"I always wanted to be a reporter when I was a kid and I got to be one when I grew up," he told CBSNews.com. "Not many people are that lucky. I thank the academy for this recognition and CBS for the opportunities they have given me over the past 44 years. Chasing down the news is still more fun than anything job I can think of."
Moonves joined CBS as president of Entertainment in 1995 and took the network from last to first place in the ratings, launching series including "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Survivor," and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Under his leadership, CBS has been #1 in viewers for nine of the past 10 years and currently features television's #1 drama, "NCIS"; #1 comedy, "The Big Bang Theory"; and the #1 news program, "60 Minutes."
Other honorees include actor/director/producer Ron Howard, sportscaster Al Michaels and writer/producer Dick Wolf. Philo T. Farnsworth, who is credited with inventing all-electronic television transmission, will be inducted posthumously, the academy said.
The 2013 inductees will be honored during a gala ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 11.