"What Makes '60 Minutes' Tick?"
CBS News Correspondent Lesley Stahl and Executive Producer Jeffrey Fager Join Marvin Kalb for a Behind-The-Scenes Look at Television’s Most Successful News Magazine On The Next Edition of “The Kalb Report” Nov. 16
Oct 28, 2009
WASHINGTON – On the next edition of "The Kalb Report" CBS News Correspondent Lesley Stahl and Executive Producer Jeffrey Fager give moderator Marvin Kalb the ultimate backstage pass, offering an insider’s perspective on what it takes to keep "60 Minutes" on the air and on top of the ratings. The forum, entitled “What Makes '60 Minutes' Tick?” will take place on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, at 8 p.m. in the main ballroom of the National Press Club (529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20045).
"As '60 Minutes' goes, so goes television news,” said Kalb. “That was the old saying. Now '60 Minutes' continues to outclass and out-earn the rest of television news. How come? It has been, without doubt, the most successful TV news program in history. What are its secrets? What is its formula for success? I look forward eagerly to talking to Jeff Fager, the executive producer, and Lesley Stahl, one of the show's stars. Join us, as we deconstruct '60 Minutes.'"
"60 Minutes" has been a staple on CBS since 1968, and, through the course of this long run, has secured its place as television’s preeminent investigative program garnering numerous awards and accolades, and exhibiting an extraordinary ability to produce high ratings year after year. In addition to its television broadcast, "60 Minutes" airs simultaneously on CBS Radio. The program consists of three stories, in which the correspondents initiate their own investigations or follow up on investigations launched by other sources. In addition to investigative pieces, "60 Minutes" periodically includes profile segments, featuring interviews with celebrities and non-celebrities making news. Based on ratings alone, "60 Minutes" is the most successful program in American television history, with a record 23 seasons in the top ten.
Lesley Stahl has been a "60 Minutes" correspondent since March 1991. In her 18 years on the program, Stahl has landed several key interviews, including an exclusive with former Bush administration officials Paul O’Neill and Richard Clarke, which have been major scoops for the network. Over the course of her distinguished 35-year career in broadcast journalism, Stahl has become synonymous with CBS News. After gaining recognition through her coverage of Watergate, Stahl was appointed White House correspondent for CBS News, a position she held through the Carter and Reagan administrations. In 1983, Stahl began her eight year run as moderator of CBS’s "Face the Nation." In 1990, while still appearing on "Face the Nation," she also took a seat at the anchor desk of "America Tonight," a daily late-night broadcast comprising interviews and essays. Stahl’s numerous honors include a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, presented in 2003, and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television News.
Jeffrey Fager has been the executive producer of "60 Minutes" since 2004, and under his leadership, the program has maintained its number one spot among news magazines, and demonstrated a noteworthy growth in viewership during the 2008-2009 season. Before his arrival at "60 Minutes", Fager served as executive producer for its weekday counterpart -- "60 Minutes II." Faber led "60 Minutes II" to critical acclaim, earning nine Emmy Awards, two RTNDA/Edward R. Murrow Awards, two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Peabody Awards, a Delta Sigma Chi Award and two Investigative Reporting and Editing Awards. Fager’s longstanding relationship with CBS began when he joined WBZ TV in Boston, a CBS-owned station, as a production assistant. Since then, he has honed his production talents working on such CBS News programs as "Nightwatch", "CBS Evening News" and "48 Hours."
“In a world of tweets and Facebook posts '60 Minutes' serves as a beacon of journalistic light for students preparing to launch their own careers,” said "Kalb Report" Executive Producer Michael Freedman. “The program is the best representation on television of the standards set by Edward R. Murrow at CBS News and it clearly serves as his legacy. There is much to learn from that which makes '60 Minutes' tick and Lesley Stahl, Jeffrey Fager and Marvin Kalb are the perfect teachers.”
"The Kalb Report" is produced by The George Washington University Global Media Institute, Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center, and the National Press Club. For the seventh consecutive season, the series is underwritten by a grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. Since its debut in 1994, the partnership has produced 65 "Kalb Report" forums on issues at the intersection of press, politics and public policy. Guests have included Walter Cronkite, Christiane Amanpour, Roger Ailes, Ken Burns, Thomas Friedman, Bill O’Reilly, Hillary Clinton, Katie Couric and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. The series is distributed by Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and American Public Television, and has been seen on some 200 local public television stations across the country with additional airings on New England Cable News. The series also airs nationally on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and locally in Washington, D.C., on Federal News Radio (1500-AM). All forums offer open media coverage.
Moderator Marvin Kalb is a James Clark Welling Presidential Fellow at The George Washington University and Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Over the course of his distinguished 30-year career in broadcast journalism, Kalb served as chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS News and NBC News, and as moderator of "Meet the Press." He then served as founding director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Among his many honors are two Peabody Awards, the DuPont Prize from Columbia University, the 2006 National Press Club Fourth Estate Award and more than a half-dozen Overseas Press Club awards.
Executive Producer Michael Freedman is a professor in the GW School of Media and Public Affairs and executive director of the university’s Global Media Institute. A 30-year broadcast journalist, network executive, university administrator and teacher, Freedman served as general manager of CBS Radio Network News, managing editor for the broadcast division of United Press International, and vice president for communications at The George Washington University. Freedman is the recipient of more than 85 honors for journalistic excellence including 14 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards. Most recently, the GW Global Media Institute was honored with a 2009 Gold World Medal in the New York Festivals International Radio Awards competition for its centennial tribute to Edward R. Murrow.
Producer Heather Date serves as associate director of GW’s Global Media Institute. Date is a former CNN producer and a graduate of The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.
"The Kalb Report" series is directed by Robert Vitarelli, a 39-year CBS News veteran and a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
The George Washington University Global Media Institute, affiliated with GW's School of Media and Public Affairs and Graduate School of Political Management, is a leader in the public dialogue on the transformation of journalism in the 21st Century. The Institute also produces the weekly network radio programs "This Just In!," in partnership with the Newseum, and "GW Presents American Jazz" in partnership with Tony Bennett’s Exploring the Arts Foundation.
Free tickets for the Nov. 16, 2009, "Kalb Report" are available through GW TicketMaster on the Ground Floor of the Marvin Center (800 21st St. NW) or online at kalb.gwu.edu.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Emily Cain - 202-994-3087 - eecain@gwu.edu
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