CBS Evening News

CBS Pays Tribute to Don Hewitt

August 19, 2009 / 5:36 PM EDT / CBS

No man in television history accomplished more in an hour than 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt. As CBS pays tribute to him, here are some remembrances from the people who knew him best:

(CBS)

Steve Kroft: "Don Hewitt was a man who changed TV news , and in the process it affected some of the great events of the 20th century by coming up with a broadcast that attracted millions and millions of people."

(CBS)

Andy Rooney: "He had a great sense of what the people would take on television and he knew what they ought to know. He started doing 60 Minutes the way it's done now - and it's his fault."

(CBS/The Early Show)

Charlie Rose: "Don understood the power of question. If you put it to someone it in a very clear and precise way, and made them ask themselves, "How do I respond?" - you would get the most compelling kinds of TV you've ever seen."

(CBS)

Morley Safer: "He always worked at high tension, at peak performance. Horrible temper tantrums. But when he settled down: brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

(CBS)

Steve Kroft: "There isn't a show on television - I don' t care what variety news show - that didn't have Don's DNA. I'm talking about camera angles - the close tight shots when you are doing interviews, the way to ask questions, the ambush interviews."

(CBS/The Early Show)

Charlie Rose: "His solitary genius was in the editing room .It was about story. And understanding of story and understanding a narrative - and that is what everything is about today. That is what politics is about, what communication is about, it about how to best tell a story."

(CBS)

Steve Kroft: "I think his enduring legacy will be 60Minutes. It's still alive and still doing well, and still thriving and it still in many ways Don Hewitt's show."

(CBS)

Morley Safer: "Don Hewitt really in a certain way created guys like me, Mike, and Ed. And the others. He really did. He is the father of us all."

TV News Giant Don Hewitt Dies At 86
Photo Gallery: Don Hewitt 1922 - 2009
Photo Gallery: Reaction
Timeline: Hewitt's Life and Career
A Producer's Memories: Working For Don

This Sunday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. ET/PT: 60 Minutes will devote its entire hour to Hewitt. The 60 Minutes correspondents are working on individual segments that will tell the story of the legendary newsman's life, lasting contributions to the television news industry and especially their favorite stories about their boss and his times at 60 Minutes.

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