Inside The Newsroom

MIAMI (CBS4) ― First Walter Cronkite, now Don Hewitt.

For those of us who grew up watching and learning at the feet of the television sets or literally at their feet the passing of "Uncle Walter" and now, "Mr. 60 Minutes" leaves us all sad and nostalgic.

While Walter Cronkite was truly a giant in the history of television news, for those of us lucky enough to meet and learn from him Don Hewitt was even more. He revolutionized broadcast journalism. He changed the world and made it what it is today.

Hewitt's passing casts a sense of sadness and nostalgia over this newsroom. I also know my friends at 60 Minutes are devastated.

As one of my friends and colleagues, CBS4 political reporter Michael Williams, put it "Two of the giants of broadcast journalism have now passed from the scene within one month's time."

Michael then notes an interesting piece of trivia.

"I can't help note that neither Walter Cronkite, nor Don Hewitt had college degrees," Williams said. "That is NOT a knock on college by any means, but it is a reminder that there is no substitute for good old fashioned curiosity married to a passion to learn and a commitment to shining light in places both comfortable and not. It's called American journalism, and Hewitt rightly deserves his spot as one of its greatest contributors."

And what saddens many of us is not only Hewitt's death but the troubling fact that many young people may not know who Don Hewitt was. And even more people most likely won't understand the world-shaping impact Hewitt had on TV journalism.

CBS4 I-Team's executive producer, Amber Statler-Matthews best summed that up. "Don Hewitt was a pioneer of investigative journalism," Statler-Matthews said.

"As Executive Producer of the CBS4 I-Team I am keenly aware of the standard of excellence he established for 60 Minutes. We in the I-Team strive daily to follow his lead. While we have lost a legend in our industry, Hewitt's innovative style and integrity as a journalist will be emulated for decades to come."

"For me, Don Hewitt set the standard that the rest of us aspire to every day," said CBS4 WFOR-TV news director, Adrienne Roark.

"He was able to take some of the strongest journalistic personalities, bring them all together, and tell magical stories."

Yes, he invented 60 Minutes. But as Roark put it, he did even more than that.

Hewitt taught us all how great storytelling and great television can…no, must…become synonymous. And he demonstrated, with the success of 60 Minutes that if you do that you can create great journalism and still be financially successful.

Don Hewitt was first and foremost a storyteller and he taught all of those around him (both in New York at 60 Minutes and in newsrooms all over the country who wanted to emulate his style and success) how to become good storytellers.

In fact he wrote a book titled Tell Me a Story which chronicled his 50 years with 60 Minutes and told, in only the way he could tell, up what his career and life was all about. Tell Me a Story.

I met Don Hewitt several times. My first encounter was at an annual seminar for investigative reporters that was held that year in New York City. Hewitt joined other network investigative journalists to discuss the changing times and the challenges facing all of us.

After the presentation I cornered him in a hallway off the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria. I stammered something about how much I admired his work and what he meant to all of us. He laughed and said "I'm sure you're doing just as important work," Hewitt said with a sparkle in his eye. "Just remember it's the story. Tell the story."

A few years later I ran into him again, also at the Waldorf. This time it was at the George Foster Peabody Award ceremonies where the folks from 60 Minutes were also honored. Obviously he didn't remember me and I only spoke for a few minutes. But I remember he graciousness and almost infectious smile as he again took my compliments and congratulations while offering his own to me. "Just remember to always tell a good story," he said.

In my work as an investigative reporter I've met some terrific and talented people. One of those is Ira Rosen, a producer for 60 Minutes. Ira told me Hewitt's death has "everybody down today" at 60 Minutes.

Ira shared some of his fondest memories about Hewitt with me. In fact I've encouraged Ira to publish those thoughts because they are so good.

Ira told me that Don Hewitt hired him when he was 26 years old, with less than a year's worth of experience in television news.

"Don taught storytelling every day, not in the classroom, but in the office," Ira Rosen said. "He was always looking for the scoop."

"Don was a brilliant editor," Rosen said. "What Don did was come up with brilliant story ideas." Ira described for me how Hewitt wanted a correspondent to interview Muhammad Ali. "But Ali can't speak," said the correspondent. "If he could speak it wouldn't be a great story," replied Hewitt.

Genius!

As for the legendary relationship between Hewitt and correspondent Mike Wallace, Rosen tells me that what he and other producers witnessed of the give and take between the two men would have made great TV itself. "Don and Mike would make a great reality show," Rosen said.

My colleague, WFOR Chief Consumer Investigator Al Sunshine told me "I met Mr. Hewitt several times when he traveled down to South Florida through the years. I always wanted to work for him to better learn what made him tick, and how to improve my work.

Al said to him, Hewitt was all about "Tell me a Story" ….and if it didn't catch his interest, he'd let you know about it and insist you needed to work a little harder, dig a little deeper...tighten up your focus and get going harder than ever," Sunshine said.

Roark remembers sitting with her family and watching nights and nights of Hewitt's creations. "He is my idea of a true news leader; someone who had the vision and was able to turn it into ground-breaking television news," she said.

But by all accounts, Hewitt could be tough and held almost impossibly high standards. That's what made him so good. It's what made 60 Minutes so good for so long. It was those high standards that transformed broadcast journalism.

As CBS4 WFOR Anchor Antonio Mora told me, "Few people can claim that their life's work was truly transformative of an industry. In Don Hewitt's case, you could argue than he not only transformed the broadcasting industry, he also helped change the world."

Antonio agreed with the rest of us that these last few weeks have been sad ones for those of us lucky enough to work in this business.

"It seems quaint, if not a bit odd, to look at the old tape of the "60 Minutes" debut, where Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace had explain to the audience that the show was "kind of a magazine for television." TV newsmagazines are, of course, a broadcast staple now and Hewitt's storytelling style changed the way all news on television is produced and reported."

It was transformative change that we take for granted now. Those of us still working at this craft can only hope to have the impact Don Hewitt had. Those of us left can only hope to "Tell a Story" like Don Hewitt did.

I hope we all carry a little bit of Don around with us as we continue to strive to work this craft we call broadcast journalism. I pray that we all keep looking for the special characters to "Tell a Story" that informs, enlightens and yes, entertains.

Stephen Stock is an award winning Investigative reporter for CBS4.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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