West 57th (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| West 57th | |
| Format | Newsmagazine |
|---|---|
| Created by | Andrew Lack Howard Stringer |
| Starring | Meredith Vieira John Ferrugia Jane Wallace (1985-1988) Bob Sirott (1985-1988) Karen Burnes (1988-1989) Selina Scott (1987-1988) Steve Kroft (1987-1989) Stephen Schiff (1988-1989) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andrew Lack |
| Running time | 60 minutes, including commercials |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | August 13, 1985 – September 9, 1989 |
West 57th is a newsmagazine series which aired on CBS from August 13, 1985, through September 9, 1989. Thought by Don Hewitt to be the younger rival of 60 Minutes, he campaigned internally against the show. West 57th originally premiered as a summer series, and took its name from the New York address of the CBS Broadcast Center. The original correspondents were Jane Wallace, Bob Sirott, Meredith Vieira, and John Ferrugia. Later contributors included Steve Kroft, Selina Scott, Karen Burnes, and Stephen Schiff.
The style of the program was intended to use the contemporary tools of television to tell compelling stories. The show's popularity, a concern for Hewitt, prompted 60 Minutes pundit Andy Rooney to dedicate one of his closing segments on his program to a parody of West 57th correspondents. Ironically there was a celebration by the "West 57th" team and its producers because the show had received recognition and publicity from the popular Rooney who was trying to kill their program.
Hewitt and internal critics of the program prevailed in 1989 when CBS canceled West 57th. According to Peter Boyer in his book Who Killed CBS?, Dan Rather was obsessed with having enough resources for the CBS Evening News. He was upset when his star reporters, Jane Wallace and Meredith Vieira, were recruited to join West 57th. After the cancellation, the show was replaced by the short-lived Saturday Night with Connie Chung. Vieira and fellow correspondent Steve Kroft transferred to 60 Minutes, where Kroft currently remains. Sirott moved to Chicago to continue a successful career in local TV and Radio. John Ferrugia moved to Denver, where he is an investigative reporter for that city's KMGH-TV (ironically a former CBS affiliate).
