This was a day no one ever wanted to see,  the day we lost Don Hewitt. He died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Bridgehampton, NY. He was 86.

A pioneer, a leader, a teacher, a broadcasting pro. He knew what brought viewers to the television set. “Tell them something they don’t know, and tell a good story” said Hewitt.

He was involved in some of the most historic moments of our time. A few include the Kennedy-Nixon debate, the discovery of network evening newscasts, and the father of “60 Minutes”. He sat with presidents, and coached some of the industry’s best - Murrow, Cronkite, Sevareid, Safer and Wallace.

Don Hewitt was shaping broadcast journalism way before most of us knew it’s meaning. It was Hewitt that helped make it special, guiding thousands into a calling that still flourishes today. A tough teacher, that sent even the toughest reporters cowering.

I had the incredible opportunity last summer to interview Don Hewitt for a book I was co-writing with AR&D, “Live, Local, Broken News. A large part of what Hewitt had to say guided my thinking as we mapped out a plan for broadcast news in the years ahead. Unfortunately, there was not enough room to print all of his comments, but the power of the web allows us to hear his thoughts on broadcast news today, and where it’s headed.

Like any good reporter, I recorded our phone interview and now share clips of it with you. Insights from a pioneer who remained true to his craft, and always believed telling a good story was the answer to most of the industries woes. And at the end of the day he would tell you, “yes, it’s show business, no matter what anyone tells you!”

 Click the blue arrow below and listen to Hewitt’s comments on issues facing the industry.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 8:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.