Obits

This morning the network news shows paid tribute to Mike Wallace, who died Saturday night at age 93. On “CBS This Morning” Wallace’s “60 Minutes” colleagues Morley Safer and Steve Kroft shared their thoughts. Safer revealed a side of Wallace many did not know: That he was “unsure of himself.”

“Mike always felt that he had not paid his dues as a journalist,” said Safer. “That uncertainty or even perhaps shame of having done commercials and silly stuff haunted him.”

On “Good Morning America” Robin Roberts reported the obituary discussing it with George Stephanopoulos. And on the “Today” show Tom Brokaw reported the story reflecting on the life of his “friend and competitor.” Story after the jump…

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I admit it – I always had a soft spot for Mike Wallace.

Not the on-camera Wallace, who in his glory days as “60 Minutes’’ chief inquisitor struck fear into the hearts of evil-doers, large and small; but the real Wallace, who died Saturday, a month before his 94th birthday.

I think he had a soft spot for me, too. Not once during 30 years’ of interviews did he lose his legendary temper or make a cutting remark or dodge a question. More than a few times, he returned deadline calls from aboard an airplane — a big deal back in the day.

My favorite interview took place in his CBS office in New York in 1984, shortly before the infamous Westmoreland libel trial. Wallace was a defendant and key witness in the $120 million suit, filed by Gen. William Westmoreland for a 1982 CBS documentary that claimed he had deliberately misrepresented enemy troop strength.

It was a horrible time for Wallace, then 66 and in his 16th season with “60 Minutes.” The trial was weighing heavy on his mind, and his third marriage was on the rocks. Still, he didn’t hesitate when I asked him, on sheer whim, what he usually ate for breakfast.

Two pieces of whole-wheat toast and a vitamin, he said. And, like his father before him, a cup of hot water and lemon … “for the kaboom.”

At that moment, Myron Leon Wallace, the son of Russian immigrants, could have been my father.

The Westmoreland trial lasted 18 weeks. It was settled out of court in February 1985, just days before it was to have gone to the jury. Wallace, scheduled as a defense witness, had not testified.

I couldn’t think of Wallace without thinking of Don Hewitt, the late “60 Minutes” creator and executive producer. He and Wallace, an original “60″ correspondent from 1968, were infamous for their high-decibel office battles. I dubbed them the Sunshine Boys.

I was on the phone with Wallace once when Hewitt grabbed the receiver from his hands and said, “You should be talking to me instead of Mike. I’m much more interesting.” Chuckling, I told him to shut his pie hole and to put Wallace back on the phone. He did.

Wallace and Hewitt “were legendary for their quarrels,” former CBS News president Andrew Heyward recalled yesterday. “Mike was quick to raise his voice, as was Don. They always

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At the start of tonight’s “60 Minutes,” following the sudden-death finish at The Masters, Morley Safer announced that next Sunday’s show will be “an extended tribute” to “60″ original Mike Wallace. “More than anyone else he was responsible for the continuing success of ’60 Minutes.’ We are all in his debt.”

Following news of Mike Wallace‘s death, remembrances and tributes have poured in.

“It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace,” said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation in a statement. “His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS.”

Morley Safer and Bob Schieffer shared their thoughts this morning on CBS:

Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather:

“Mike Wallace was from from the beginning and for many years the heart and soul of ’60 Minutes.’ In that role, he helped change American television news. Among the ways that this change was for the better: TV news became more investigative, more aggressive and relevant. Mike was sharp and quick of mind, a fierce competitor and a master interviewer.”

Fox News chairman & CEO Roger Ailes said in a statement:

“Mike Wallace was one of the premier journalists of our time — his legendary tenacity, passion for the truth and unwavering commitment to fairness will always be admired and remembered. He will remain in the pantheon of greats in broadcasting journalism. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and the entire Wallace family.”

From “ABC World News” anchor Diane Sawyer:

“Mike’s energy and nerve paced everyone at ’60 Minutes.’ His was the defining spirit of the show. He bounded through the halls with joy at the prospect of the new, the true, the unexpected.”

From NBC News president Steve Capus:

“Mike Wallace was a gifted, tenacious reporter who set the gold standard in investigative reporting. His unique style compelled you to sit forward and take notice of everything he put on the air. Towards the end of his career, my wife Sophia and I had the chance to get to know the man behind the legend. We enjoyed Mike’s good company and his stories of a remarkable life. He will be missed. Our condolences to his family.”

We will add more as we get them.

Legendary CBS Newsman Mike Wallace has died at the age of 93.

Wallace was a staple on CBS for a half century, and was most well-known for his reports on the newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” for which he served as a correspondent. Wallace was one of the original correspondents on that program when it debuted in 1968, and remained a regular contributor up until 2008.

Next Sunday’s installment of “6o Minutes” will be dedicated to Wallace’s life and career.

In an column on CBSNews.com,written by Wallace’s friend and colleague Morley Safer, the sheer breadth of Wallace’s journalistic life becomes apparent.

It was 65 years from Mike’s first appearance on camera – a World War II film for the Navy – to his last television appearance, a “60 Minutes” interview with Roger Clemens, the baseball star trying to fight off accusations of steroid use.

“All of us at CBS News and particularly at 60 Minutes owe so much to Mike,” said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and executive producer of 60 Minutes in a statement. “Without him and his iconic style, there probably wouldn’t be a 60 Minutes. There simply hasn’t been another broadcast journalist with that much talent. It almost didn’t matter what stories he was covering, you just wanted to hear what he would ask next. Around CBS he was the same infectious, funny and ferocious person as he was on TV. We loved him and we will miss him very much.”

Wallace is survived by his son, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, three stepchildren, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

After the jump, Wallace’s obituary from CBS News.

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Long before there was “To Catch a Predator” or “What Would You Do?” there was Jay McMullen, a pioneering investigative reporter for CBS News who was among the first to employ hidden cameras and go undercover to produce award-winning documentaries. McMullen died Saturday at Greenwich Woods Hospice in Connecticut. He was 90.

McMullen spent all but two of his 37-year career at CBS, where he worked with the likes of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. McMullen produced stories including “Biography of a Bookie Joint,” network television’s first full-length report on police corruption and one of the first to use hidden cameras in journalism.

McMullen would later become the reporter, producer and sometimes director of “CBS Reports” hour-long broadcasts and his reports would also be seen on “The CBS Evening news with Walter Cronkite.”

He was born in Minneapolis and raised in Cleveland. A year after earning his degree at Columbia University in 1948, McMullen joined CBS News. He is survived by his wife of 58 years Diane, two daughters and three grandchildren.

The death of Andrew Breitbart, at the age of 43, came as a shock in TV newsrooms across the country. Breitbart, who suffered from heart problems, collapsed while walking in his Brentwood, CA neighborhood. He was pronounced dead just after Midnight.

Over the last few years, despite his disdain for the mainstream media, Breitbart had become a regular on cable news, taking a conservative stand, defending his latest scoop or just taking part in the conversation. His last national appearance was Tuesday night with Piers Morgan following results of the Arizona and Michigan primaries. “I’ve cleaned up and got my hair into an aerodynamic fashion for you,” Breitbart joked with Morgan.

FNC reported Breitbart’s death at 9:33amET and began a conversation for the next half hour with several of their anchors and contributors including Sean Hannity: “He had a level of courage that is really almost unmatched today in media;” Greg Gutfeld: “He is leaving a powerful legacy. He will be a legend.” Tucker Carlson: “I talked to him last night, seemed totally exuberant as he always does.” And Monica Crowley: “I have known very few people in my life who lived life to the hilt the way Andrew Breitbart did.”

CNN reported the news at 9:34am. CNN conservative contributor Erick Erickson phoned in at 10:19. “He really is like a super nova who has gone dark,” said Erickson. Another CNN contributor, Dana Loesh phoned in at 10:40. Loesch is the editor of Breitbart’s Big Journalism site. “Once you got to know him… to know him was to like him. Regardless of what you thought about his politics.”

MSNBC reported the breaking news at 9:41. Breitbart’s politics did not align with the political leanings of MSNBC, which may be why he always seemed to relish his appearances with anchors including Martin Bashir and Dylan Ratigan, and, when he was with MSNBC, David Shuster. Because of their contentious nature, those interviews often made headlines.

Breitbart, who was prolific on Twitter, sent his last Tweet at 11:26 PT, about 40 minutes before he was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center. It was a response to a blogger in Louisiana: “I called you a putz cause I thought you were being intentionally disingenuous. If not I apologize.”

Conservative commentator, author and web publisher Andrew Breitbart has died at the age of 43, according to his website, Big Government. Breitbart died of natural causes shortly after midnight in Los Angeles.

Breitbart was a regular guest on the cable news circuit, having appeared on CNN just this past Tuesday. He was on Fox News two and a half weeks ago.

Update: As of 9:45 AM, Fox News is the only cable channel to cover Breitbart’s death, and has brought on Tucker Carlson and Greg Gutfeld to talk about their former colleague.

Two foreign journalists were killed in Syria yesterday, 28 year-old French photographer Remi Ochlik and Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin.

Colvin–a Long Island native–was killed just hours after she appeared on CNN’s “AC360″ last night, talking about the death of a little boy, one of many deaths she has witnessed in the country. As we have reported, Syria is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous assignments for foreign journalists, in some respects even more dangerous than Iraq and Afghanistan were.

Colvin’s final report for CNN is below.

Yesterday the New York Times announced that one of its reporters, Anthony Shadid, died in Syria of an apparent asthma attack. News of Shadid’s death was reported on Both NBC’s “Today” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning,” and on cable CNN’s morning shows discussed his passing at some length as well.

The most heartfelt response was probably on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” from Mike Barnicle.

“Tweeters tweet, bloggers blog, and reporters report,” Barnicle said, noting that Shadid was definitely in the third group.

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Shadid was shot while reporting in the West Bank a few years ago, and last year was kidnapped in Libya. He appeared on CNN after he was freed to discuss that incident:

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