National Press Club schedules celebration of fifty years of '60 Minutes' on March 27

A half century after the debut of "60 Minutes," the most popular news program in television history, the National Press Club plans to feature Executive Producer Jeff Fager and correspondent Bill Whitaker to talk about the its impact, history and future as well as the art of investigative reporting.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, and will be moderated by Club Board Member Michael Freedman, a former CBS Radio Network News general manager. Admission is free for members, as well as for students with valid student IDs. Admission for non-members is $10. Registration for all participants is required here.

Fager, who tutored under the show’s legendary creator Don Hewitt before succeeding him in 2004, has written 50 Years of 60 Minutes:The Inside Story of Television’s Most Influential News Broadcast. Copies of the book will be available to pre-order when you sign up for the event. At the conclusion of the formal part of the evening, Fager will be available to sign copies. Because sales of the book benefit the Club’s Journalism Institute, please do not bring outside books or memorabilia.

“Good evening. This is 60 Minutes.” That’s how Harry Reasoner opened the first episode of 60 Minutes on a Tuesday evening in September, 1968. By CBS News’ own admission, the initial reviews of the broadcast were mixed, with Daily Variety proclaiming the program would “have to do better.” Now 50 years later, it has won 20 Peabody Awards and 145 News and Documentary Emmy honors and has become a legend in television history.