Mike Wallace Looks Back on More Than '60 Minutes'

NPR

Published December 29, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

Mike Wallace (seen here at an event in New York City in 2005) has interviewed George Bush, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy.

Mike Wallace has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since the program debuted on Sept. 24, 1968. But his career in journalism began long before he became a household name on the show that defined the news magazine genre.

Wallace cut his journalistic teeth on the radio in 1940s Chicago, interrupted by a stint in the Navy during World War II.

In 1951 he joined CBS, but left the network in 1955. Wallace returned for good in 1963 when he was named a CBS News correspondent.

He has appeared on numerous television news programs since then. But it is his work on 60 Minutes that has earned him honors like his 1991 induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Wallace has long been known for his aggressive interviewing technique. He practiced it on world leaders ranging from Deng Xiaoping to Ronald Reagan.

Wallace speaks with Steve Inskeep about the sweep of his career, and what lies ahead in the future.