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Posts tagged as ““60 Minutes””

Oprah Winfrey to Join CBS' "60 Minutes" as Contributor

Oprah Winfrey (photo via variety.com)

article by Brian Sternberg via Variety.com
Oprah Winfrey, the inspirational talk-show host, TV executive, billionaire and interviewer, will join CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” in the fall, the network announced Tuesday.
“Her body of work is extraordinary, including thousands of interviews with people from all walks of life. She is a remarkable and talented woman with a level of integrity that sets her apart and makes her a perfect fit for ’60 Minutes,’” said Jeff Fager, the program’s executive producer, in a prepared statement. “I am thrilled that she will be bringing her unique and powerful voice to our broadcast.”
Winfrey has a longstanding and unique relationship with CBS. The company agreed red on 1999 to purchase King World Productions, a syndicated-TV powerhouse that launched Winfrey’s famous and durable talk show. At the time, Winfrey, a substantial King World shareholder, was expected to control one-half a percentage point of CBS stock.
The relationship stands today: Winfrey is an executive producer of CBS’ syndicated “Dr. Phil” program. CBS did not offer details of the types of segments Winfrey might contribute to “60 Minutes.” But she is known for her ability to get even the most famous actor or actress to disclose close-held feelings and emotions. One of the show’s most penetrating interviewers of celebrities, Morley Safer, retired from the newsmagazine last year, just days before passing away.
To read more: Oprah Winfrey Joins 60 Minutes as Contributor | Variety

Muhammad Ali TV Tributes & Special Reports Planned: Here is a List

Image (1) TrialsOfMuhammadAli__130724210042.jpg for post 548293article by Greg Evans via deadline.com

UPDATE with I Am The Greatest marathon:  Television specials and special programming for the late Muhammad Ali are being put together quickly on both broadcast and cable networks, with ABC’s 20/20CBS’s 48 Hours and Spike TV airing tributes to The Greatest on Saturday night and 60 Minutes re-airing its 1996 interview with Ali. We will update this post as more specials are announced, so keep checking back:
WEDNESDAY

I Am The Greatest:  The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali
El Rey Network, June 8 beginning at 10 PM ET
The network will pay tribute to with a marathon of all 13 half-hour episodes of the 1977 animated series which is making its cable premiere. The series aired on Saturday mornings on NBC in 1977 with voices provided by Ali and his real-life publicist Frank Bannister and featured the pair traveling  the country fighting crime and solving mysteries both real and supernatural.
MONDAY
The Greatest
Bounce TV, 10 PM ET/9 PM CT
Bounce TV will air a special presentation of The Greatest, the 1977 motion picture in which Ali appeared as himself. The dramatization of Ali’s life starts with his winning the heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games and continues through his defeat of George Foreman at the legendary Rumble in the Jungle.
SUNDAY
60 Minutes: The Greatest
CBS, 7 PM
60 Minutes revisits this classic 1996 segment on Muhammad Ali. Ed Bradley’s touching profile shows a former athlete still adored by fans, who won’t let Parkinson’s syndrome prevent him from helping others or affect his sharp wit. John Hamlin is the producer.

THEATER: "Alive: 55 and Kickin'", a Show in Harlem with Cast of Singers 55 and Up, Commands Prime Coverage from CBS' "60 Minutes"

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After airing last Sunday, GBN contributor Becky Schonbrun forwarded me links from “60 Minutes” that were labeled as inspiring “must-watch” material.  So I finally did, and they most definitely are.

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“Alive: 55 and Kickin'” creator and producer Vy Higginsen

Alive: 55+ and Kickin’” is a live show that was created by theater producer and former disc jockey Vy Higginsen, who has made it her mission to preserve a special part of American culture: African-American music, both gospel and popular music like soul and R&B. She found a pool of untapped talent, men and women in what she calls their “second half of life” just waiting for their chance to shine.
The music and the stories are uplifting, remarkable and definitely worth your time.  To check them out for yourself, click below:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/alive-and-kickin-part-one
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/alive-and-kickin-part-two
The show reopens this Spring and you can go to http://www.alive55themusical.com to see performance dates and purchase tickets.
Enjoy!
Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder and Editor-in-Chief (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Bill Whitaker Named "60 Minutes" Correspondent, 2nd African-American in Show History

Bill Whitaker of CBS News becomes only the
Bill Whitaker of CBS News becomes only the second African-American correspondent in the history of “60 Minutes,” after Ed Bradley. (Credit: CBS)

Bill Whitaker, a veteran CBS News reporter, has been named a 60 Minutes correspondent, becoming only the second African-American correspondent in the show’s history, after Ed Bradley, who died in 2006.
In a statement, Jeff Fager, 60 Minutes executive producer and chairman of CBS News said, “Bill Whitaker is one of the great veterans of CBS News. He has had a distinguished career covering just about every kind of story all over the world. Bill is a natural fit at ’60 Minutes’ and it’s exciting that he has agreed to join us.”
A Philadelphia native, Whitaker joined CBS in 1984, later reporting from Atlanta, and then in the network’s Tokyo bureau where he covered the uprising at Tiananmen Square. He was later lead reporter on George Bush’s 2000 campaign, and Mitt Romney’s 2008 run. Based in Los Angeles since 1992, he has also been a frequent contributor to Sunday Morning.
Bradley, another Philadelphia native, and a 26-year veteran of 60, was among television news’ respected and honored correspondents over his long run at CBS.
(By the way, this question may come up so just to answer: Byron Pitts, who has appeared on 60 Minutes numerous times, was not officially a “correspondent” for the show, but a contributor – the difference is considerable. There have been many “contributors” to 60 over the years, but very very few 60 Minutes correspondents.)
article by Verne Gay via newsday.com

Ricky Williams Lands a College Football Coaching Job

Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports
(Photo Credit: Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)

Former Pro Bowler and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams has landed a college coaching job at the University of the Incarnate Word. He will work with the running backs at UIW, which is located in San Antonio.  UIW Football is a Division I program that will compete in the Southland Conference this year.  Williams retired from the Baltimore Ravens last year, after an 11-year career that was marked by extreme highs and lows.
In 2002, Williams was the league’s leading rusher and was named Pro Bowl MVP, and many considered him the best running back in the game. This success was quickly derailed, however, after a suspension and  an early retirement in 2004, a retirement that Williams later admitted in a 60 Minutes interview came about as a result of several violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Williams will continue to live in Austin but will commute to UIW to work with the running backs in the fall.
article by Nate Scott via usatoday.com

SEED School in D.C. Shapes Scholars!

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(CBS)  A few miles from the White House in southeast Washington sit some of the worst public schools in America. The students there are mostly poor, mostly black, and their test scores are low. Only one in three finish high school; of those who do go on to college, just five percent graduate.
But right in the middle of this same area is also one of the most successful and innovative public schools in the country. Started in 1998, the school is called SEED. It’s the nation’s first urban public boarding school.
Ninety one percent of the students finish high school, and 95 percent go on to college. It’s a charter school that’s getting national attention. Admission is by lottery, open to any family in the district willing to take a chance.