Fifty Years of 60 Minutes

The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast

By: Jeff Fager

Narrated by: Jeff Fager

A history of 60 Minutes - the iconic American TV news broadcast - going behind the scenes of the most famous breakthrough stories of its remarkable 50-year run to reveal the secrets of the program's success.

Fifty Years of 60 Minutes tells the inside story of the legendary program, from its almost accidental birth through five decades of in-depth reporting by talented producers and beloved correspondents, including fatherly Harry Reasoner, hard-charging Mike Wallace, writer's-writer Morley Safer, soft-but-tough Ed Bradley, relentless Lesley Stahl, and illuminating storyteller Steve Kroft. Executive producer Jeff Fager zeroes in on the stories that changed history - from the tobacco industry exposé to the revelatory interview with scandal-plagued Bill Clinton - the ones that set the standard in nonfiction storytelling, what the program learned from its mistakes, and the human drama that made it all possible.

Fifty Years of 60 Minutes shares the secret of what's made the program exceptional for all these years and how it has maintained such high quality to this day: why founder Don Hewitt believed "hearing" a story is more important than seeing it (and thus why he closed his eyes in the screening room), why competition was encouraged to preserve a sense of urgency, why the "small picture" is the best way to illuminate a larger one, and why the most memorable stories are almost always those with a human being at the center.

©2017 Jeff Fager (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Loved this book!!!!

What a great listen!!!!! It was a great listen and I think you will enjoy it too.

Extra Insight was interesting.

I enjoyed a behind the scenes look at a shothat show that continues to set the industry standard.

Fascinating, Phenominal, and Timely.

In a time when journalism is under attacked, this book reminds us why '60 Minutes' remains a cherished American institution.

Nostalgic Nostalgic

I have followed "60 Minutes" since its very first broadcast, so this book was a nice trip down memory lane. I can't put my finger on it, but it seemed like there was always something lurking in the background that the author wasn't telling us. Two specific things that I wish were different, included my dislike for how the story of 60 Minutes starts not at the beginning of its broadcast history, but in the middle. I did not follow the reasoning for this decision. Second, I thought some of the audio clips from the show were horrible in terms of the technical aspects. Some of these were simply very difficult to understand in the audiobook. Overall though, I'm glad this book was written.

The 60 Minutes Way

Any journalist, at any level, should find this book fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed every word.