West 57th (TV series)
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| West 57th | |
|---|---|
| Format | Newsmagazine |
| Created by | Andrew Lack and Howard Stringer |
| Starring | Meredith Vieira, John Ferrugia, Jane Wallace, Bob Sirott, Karen Burnes, Selina Scott, Steve Kroft, Stephen Schiff |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andrew Lack |
| Running time | 60 minutes, including commercials |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | August 13, 1985 – September 1989 |
Thought of internally by Don Hewitt as the younger rival of 60 Minutes, West 57th originally premiered as a summer magazine series on CBS on August 13, 1985. 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 for the under 40 audience. The shows popularity prompted 60 Minutes pundit Andy Rooney to dedicate a closing segment of the senior magazine program to a parady of West 57th Correspondents.
CBS cancelled West 57th in September of 1989 due to lack of resources. According to Peter Boyer in his book Who Killed CBS?, Dan Rather was always obsessed with having enough resources for the CBS Evening News. He was very 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 counterpart Steve Kroft moved to 60 Minutes. Sirott moved to Chicago to continue a successful career in local TV and Radio. John Ferrugia moved to Denver to anchor local news and begin an award winning investigative team.
