We are thrilled to announce the 2018 TV WEEK Logie Awards Hall of Fame inductee is 60 Minutes!
The iconic current affairs show received the honour at the 60th TV WEEK Logie Awards on the Gold Coast. It’s only the fifth program to enter the Hall Of Fame, joining Four Corners, Neighbours, Play School and Home And Away.
Reporter Liam Bartlett believes the show’s success is something to be proud of.
“It’s pretty amazing, in the context of Australian TV history, to find a show that’s been in prime time for 40 years, especially commercially,” Liam, 57, says.
60 Minutes premiered in 1979. The original team was Ray Martin, George Negus and Ian Leslie.
“I think 60 Minutes did a lot in the early days to make Australians look outside of themselves and to tell them there was a whole amazing world there,” veteran reporter Charles Wooley explains. “We called it a magic carpet ride for us, but I think it was for the audience too.”
The 40th anniversary 60 Minutes team.
Allison Langdon, who’s been with 60 Minutes since 2011, was born in the year the show premiered. She says, like most Australians, she sat down with her family to watch it every week.
“We all travelled the world through the eyes of whoever it happened to be – Jana [Wendt], George, Ian, Jeff [McMullen],” she explains. “It’s why I wanted to become a journalist.”
She says 60 Minutes‘ history is full of moments that people remember.
“Stories like Allison Baden Clay – that was one that Tara [Brown] did. Joanne Lees – that was a Liz [Hayes] story. The George Negus interview with Margaret Thatcher. Pauline Hanson – that was Tracey [Curro]. Peter Overton and Tom Cruise telling him to put his manners back in.”
The focus of 60 Minutes has shifted since the early years. But the show still has its place.
“It’s probably more about telling stories now than showing people things,” Charles, 69, says. “I think we’ll be around for a while yet.”
60 Minutes follows in the footsteps of the iconic Kerri-Anne Kennerely, who was inducted in 2017.
