August 19th, 2009 
joel The fellow that made the way for Kevin and Amanda, Sean and Selena, and Scott and Jacqueline died this morning. Executive Producer of CBS News, and creator of “60 Minutes” Don Hewitt succumbed to pancreatic cancer Wednesday. He was 86.
He is considered the father of modern television news, the force behind front men Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, covering all of the major news events in the post-war era. He created the TV news magazine “60 Minutes” in 1968 which set the standard for every long-form news show to come after. He stepped down from his role as Executive Producer in 2004.
He also pioneered TV news staples such as cue-cards, now the Teleprompter, as well as the use of the character generator during a newscast.
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Don Hewitt was also the Executive Producer of the famous 1960 Presidential debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Don Hewitt was the first person to do the job that I did, and loved for 27 years – directing the news (as we now know it). Thank you, Mr. Hewitt! You were always an inspiration for me. If only there were more like you still in positions of power, both at the networks, and especially in local tv.