{"id":3350,"date":"2019-11-08T08:28:23","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T13:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/?p=3350"},"modified":"2019-11-14T10:35:53","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T15:35:53","slug":"cbs-news-icon-a-focus-of-screening-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/2019\/11\/08\/cbs-news-icon-a-focus-of-screening-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS News Icon A Focus Of Screening, Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The<\/a>
The legacy of broadcast journalism legend Mike Wallace was the subject of a Hunter College panel featuring CBS News producer Bob Anderson (above left) and Avi Belkin (middle), documentary filmmaker. Journalism Professor David Alm (at right) moderated the Nov. 6 discussion. PHOTO: Kalli Siringas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Mike Wallace interview was like \u201cstepping into an arena.\u201d That\u2019s how filmmaker Avi Belkin described the hardball journalistic technique of the legendary \u201c60 Minutes<\/a>\u201d newsman, who is the subject of Belkin\u2019s new documentary chronicling Wallace\u2019s trailblazing investigative work at the powerhouse CBS News program.  
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Belkin<\/a> made the remarks before some four dozen Hunter College students, faculty and staff at the college\u2019s Lang Auditorium following a Nov. 6 screening of his 90-minute film, \u201cMike Wallace Is Here<\/a>.\u201d  [View video of the full 30-minute panel below<\/a>.]
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Joining Belkin was Wallace\u2019s long-time \u201c60 Minutes\u201d producer, Bob Anderson, who lauded the documentary as a \u201cbrilliant movie that absolutely captured Mike. \u2026 He was a performer and charmer even when asking annoying, abusive, eviscerating questions.\u201d
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\u201cInterviews are a way to learn about others, but we also learn about ourselves.\u201d
<\/p>\u2014 Avi Belkin, documentary filmmaker<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hunter journalism\u2019s David Alm led the discussion with Anderson and Belkin after the screening, noting nostalgically how he grew up watching Wallace and \u201c60 Minutes\u201d each Sunday with his family, and crediting its influence at least to some degree for his choice to become a journalist.
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\"Hunter
Hunter College journalism student Rich Mendez (at right) interviews CBS News veteran Bob Anderson, following a panel discussion on “60 Minutes” legend Mike Wallace. PHOTO: Kalli Siringas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For his part, Belkin, who grew up in Israel and never actually saw \u201c60 Minutes\u201d until adulthood, the documentary was less an exercise in nostalgia and more an exploration of the iconic journalist\u2019s \u201corigin story.\u201d 
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Belkin saw Wallace\u2019s confident, sometimes abrasive, interviewing style as the core not just of his journalism, but of his character. \u201cInterviews are a way to learn about others, but we also learn about ourselves,\u201d said Belkin, adding: \u201cMike Wallace was not a reflective person. [But through interviews] he was trying to learn about himself.\u201d
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Anderson spoke to the relevance of Wallace\u2019s stubborn pursuit of truth. \u201cWhen truth can be dismissed as fake, it means real journalism from respectable outlets that deals in fact, not fake, is more important than ever.\u201d 
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