Morley Safer, the CBS newsman and 60 Minutes’ longest-serving correspondent, will formally retire this week. His unparalleled career will be celebrated in a special hour directly following this Sunday’s regular edition of 60 Minutes. “Morley Safer: A Reporter’s Life” will be broadcast Sunday, May 15.
Safer’s first season as a regular 60 Minutes correspondent began in 1970 with a story about the training of U.S. Sky Marshals. His last 60 Minutes report — number 919 — a profile of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, was broadcast in March. “After more than 50 years of broadcasting on CBSNews and 60 Minutes I have decided to retire. It’s been a wonderful run, but the time has come to say goodbye to all of my friends at CBS and the dozens of people who kept me on the air,” said Safer. “But most of all I thank the millions of people who have been loyal to our broadcast.”
“Morley has had a brilliant career as a reporter and as one of the most significant figures in CBS News history, on our broadcast and in many of our lives,” said Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes. “Morley’s curiosity, his sense of adventure and his superb writing, all made for exceptional work done by a remarkable man. The best of Morley Safer will be on display in our special broadcast this Sunday.” Fager, a personal friend who once produced 60 Minutes stories for Safer, is interviewed for “Morley Safer: A Reporter’s Life.”
The hour-long special traces Safer’s life from his birth in Toronto to his rise in the 50s and 60s as a distinguished war reporter and then 60 Minutes correspondent, whose inimitable style, wonderful writing and broad range captivated millions on the most successful broadcast in television history.
Safer’s record of 40-plus years on primetime television will never be matched.
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