Don Hewitt on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Producer Don Hewitt recalls the moment he heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot, and how the gears started to turn at CBS News to get the announcement on the air:

"I picked up the phone and I called Frank Stanton, who was then president of CBS, and his secretary said, he’s in a very important meeting and that he can’t be disturbed. I said, 'Disturb him.' She said, 'Okay, but you take responsibility.' I said, 'You got it.' So he got on the phone, he was very annoyed...I said, 'The president’s been shot.' He said, 'Oh, my god...stay on the air, don’t go back to regular programming until we know whether he’s dead or alive.' And then he called me back, he said, 'No forget that, don’t go back to regular programing at all no matter what.' So we stayed on the air for about a day and a half, almost two days."

Watch Don Hewitt’s full interview where he details his many career accomplishments, including the creation of 60 Minutes.

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