Steve Kroft Admits He 'Hated' Working at “60 Minutes”
Steve Kroft Admits He 'Hated' Working at “60 Minutes”
Brenton BlanchetMon, April 6, 2026 at 2:22 PM UTC
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Steve Kroft appears in his New York City office on Sept. 12, 2017Credit: Richard Drew/AP -
Steve Kroft is reflecting on his time at 60 Minutes
While he "loved the job" for the stories he got to work on, the retired correspondent admitted that he "hated" it too
"60 Minutes was really appealing and I thought I wasn't really sure I was ever gonna get there," he said of his feelings before boarding in 1989
Steve Kroft "probably wouldn't do it again," when it comes to 60 Minutes.
The retired correspondent, 80, admitted on a Thursday, April 2 episode of Bill O'Reilly's We’ll Do It Live! that while the newsmagazine was "exhilarating" during his time there, he "hated" it.
When asked if he'd "do it again," Kroft got candid about his 30 years on the job.
"No, I probably wouldn't do it again," said Kroft, who retired in 2019. "I hated it. Look, the best job I ever had at CBS was when I was correspondent at the London bureau and got to see the world. That was the job I always wanted. 60 Minutes was really appealing, and I thought I wasn't really sure I was ever gonna get there. I didn't really seriously think about it."
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Steve Kroft attends a '60 Minutes' 50th anniversary event on Nov. 6, 2017 at the 92nd Street YCredit: CJ Rivera/Getty
Kroft, who joined 60 Minutes in 1989, said the work was "24 hours a day," often involving traveling on jets, days spent writing scripts, attending screenings and "starting it all over again."
"It was exhilarating. ... The reason I loved the job was because of the stories that I could do and the fact that they liked good stories," he said. "I was kind of at a disadvantage. I was the first person on that show who had not been an anchorman, wasn't really well known. I'd been a lot on the evening news and I had been at West 57th, but I had to keep doing it."
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After O'Reilly, 76, asked if Kroft got "addicted" to the work, he responded that he "probably" did. "You get excited about the fact that you're still alive," he joked.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Kroft recalled thinking joining 60 Minutes was "fantastic" before he eventually realized "not everybody was happy that I got" the job. "There were other people that wanted, so then you've all of a sudden made a bunch of enemies," he said. "It's a snake pit."
Kroft's work at 60 Minutes included a memorable 1992 conversation with then-Gov. Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, his 2008 interview with Barack and Michelle Obama, Obama’s last interview as president in January 2017, and the only television interview with Woody Allen during his custody battle with Mia Farrow.
After three decades on the program, he announced his retirement in May 2019 as he concluded his 30th season. He told The Hollywood Reporter that if producers were asked to describe him, he joked, "If you asked them during the scripting process the answer would be unprintable. When the story is finished and screened, they would be more complimentary."
“Steve Kroft’s reporting for 60 Minutes has been as important as any correspondent’s in the history of this broadcast,” now-former executive producer Bill Owens said in a statement at the time. “Steve, with his sharp eye for detail, rich writing and demanding journalism, has set the bar at 60 Minutes for three decades.”
“From the moment Steve Kroft arrived at CBS News in 1980, he has been shot out of a cannon and wherever he landed his stories broke news, had depth, and a strong sense of humanity,” Susan Zirinsky added. “From Central America to a tour of duty in London, and back to New York, his destiny was clear — Kroft’s investigative instincts and ability to unravel the most complex stories made him a perfect fit for the 60 Minutes team.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
