"60 Minutes," the iconic American news magazine television program, debuted on CBS in 1968, marking the beginning of a significant evolution in broadcast journalism. Conceived by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, the show initially aired as a bi-weekly program, hosted by Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner. Its early format was inspired by the Canadian program "W5" and aimed to blend the serious journalism of the 1950s CBS series "See It Now" with the personality
profiles found in another Murrow program, "Person to Person." Hewitt himself described this blend as combining "higher Murrow" and "lower Murrow," indicating a mix of serious and lighthearted news stories. The program pioneered many investigative journalism techniques, including re-editing interviews, using hidden cameras, and employing "gotcha journalism" tactics, such as visiting subjects at their homes or offices.
Initially, the show faced challenges, struggling under the stigma that news programming in prime time typically lost money. Networks often scheduled public affairs programs in prime time primarily to bolster the prestige of their news departments and boost ratings for regular evening newscasts, which reached a much larger audience than documentaries. For its first three years, "60 Minutes" grappled with this perception, and its ratings were not significantly higher than other CBS News documentaries.
Early Format and Scheduling Hurdles
The inaugural broadcast of "60 Minutes" on September 24, 1968, featured Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner seated on opposite sides of a cream-colored set, a color that would later change to the now-famous black backdrop. The show's logo initially used Helvetica type, with "Minutes" in all lower-case letters, and included a "Vol. xx, No. xx" display, mimicking print magazines. The trademark stopwatch, however, was not present in the first episode but was introduced several episodes later. Alpo dog food served as the sole sponsor for the premiere.
During its early years, "60 Minutes" aired on Tuesday evenings at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, alternating weeks with other CBS News productions. A significant scheduling challenge arose from CBS's telecasts of late afternoon National Football League (NFL) games. To accommodate these games, which were contractually protected from interruptions following the "Heidi Bowl" incident in 1968, "60 Minutes" went on hiatus during the fall from 1972 to 1975, and also during the summer of 1972. This irregular scheduling proved less than satisfactory, but despite these disruptions, the program's hard-hitting reports began to attract a growing audience, particularly during the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, as few other major network news shows offered such in-depth investigative reporting.
Finding its Footing and Achieving Dominance
In 1971, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced the Prime Time Access Rule, which freed local network affiliates in the top 50 markets to reclaim a half-hour of prime time on Mondays through Saturdays and a full hour on Sundays. While many affiliates found the production costs for the FCC's intended goal of increased public affairs programming to be high and ratings low, an exception was made for network-authored news and public affairs shows. After a six-month hiatus in late 1971, CBS found a new slot for "60 Minutes" in this displaced time, moving it to 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Sundays in January 1972.
The FCC's 1975 amendment to the Access Rule returned an hour to the networks on Sundays for news or family programming, finally providing "60 Minutes" with a viable permanent timeslot. When the family-oriented drama "Three for the Road" concluded its 12-week run in the fall, "60 Minutes" took its place at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (6:00 p.m. Central) on December 7, 1975. This move established its enduring Sunday evening format, making it not only the longest-running prime time program currently in production but also the television program broadcasting for the longest length of time at a single time period each week in U.S. television history. This consistent scheduling, coupled with the addition of then-White House correspondent Dan Rather to the reporting team, transformed the program into a significant ratings hit and a cultural phenomenon. By 1976, "60 Minutes" was the top-rated program on Sunday nights in the U.S., and by 1979, it had achieved the number one spot among all television programs in the Nielsen ratings, an unprecedented achievement for a prime-time news broadcast. This success translated into substantial profits for CBS, with advertising rates soaring from $17,000 per 30-second spot in 1975 to $175,000 in 1982.
Enduring Legacy and Modern Adaptations
"60 Minutes" has maintained its status as a top-rated news magazine, consistently ranking among the top 20 programs in the Nielsen ratings for most of its run. It was a top ten show for 23 consecutive seasons from 1977 to 2000, an unsurpassed record, and has remained in the Top 20 for every season since 1976-1977, with only a brief exception from 2005 to 2008. Its success has even influenced CBS Sports to schedule major events, such as the Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship, to lead into "60 Minutes" and the rest of the network's primetime lineup. The program continues to adapt, with video from "60 Minutes" (including full episodes) available for streaming on CBSNews.com and Paramount+, and an audio version distributed via podcast and the iTunes Store since 2007. In 2010, the program launched "60 Minutes Overtime," a website where broadcast stories are discussed in further detail, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to engaging audiences across various platforms.
