MARCH 24 • 2022 | 31

“W

hen one man, 
for whatever 
reason, has the 
opportunity to lead an extraordi-
nary life, he has no right to keep 
it to himself.
” These are the words 
of Jacques Cousteau, and they 
are the sentiments behind why 
Ira Rosen, producer of some of 
the most significant 
stories for the CBS 
show 60 Minutes, 
wrote his memoir, 
Ticking Clock: Behind 
the Scenes at 60 
Minutes.
On April 5, Rosen 
will Zoom into a 
SOAR Lifelong Learning Institute 
(formerly Society of Active 
Retirees) program for an hour-
long discussion on life, family, 
career and 60 Minutes. 
For nearly 25 years, Rosen 
stood beside Mike Wallace and 
other legendary reporters to pro-
duce and share some of the most 
memorable and ground-breaking 
stories for the CBS show. Before 
CBS, Rosen spent 15 years at ABC 
as senior producer and one of the 
co-creators of Prime Time Live.
His career includes major 
innovations, such as pioneering 
use of hidden cameras. While at 
ABC, his stories included expos-
ing racial discrimination, abuses 
in VA hospitals, mistreatment 
of farm workers, and unsafe and 
unsanitary food handling practic-

es inside meat packing plants and 
supermarkets. 
At CBS, the former Nieman 
Fellow in Journalism at Harvard 
University was behind some of 
the Sunday evening news show’s 
most significant pieces: exposing 
how congressmen used campaign 
contributions for personal use; 
revealing how the U.S. smuggled 
Nazi war criminals into the U.S. 
for intelligence purposes and 
unleashing the report on who was 
responsible for the opioid epi-
demic, which won more awards 
for 60 Minutes than any segment 
in the show’s 52-year history.
In the years after 9-11, his sto-
ries included exposing how the 
government’s No Fly list, used to 
prevent potential terrorists from 
flying on U.S. flights, included 
common names like Robert 
Johnson, which hampered real 
Robert Johnsons from boarding 
planes. After the story aired, the 
No Fly list was amended. 
In 2005, he traveled to Pakistan 
and obtained the interroga-
tion tapes of some of the most 
dangerous terrorists captured 
by Pakistan, including the mas-
termind of 9-11, Khalid Sheikh 
Mohammed. 
But, life behind the scenes at 
CBS wasn’t all glitz and glamour. 
Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes 
at 60 Minutes, is an honest, tell-
all look at the often chaotic and 
toxic culture of this iconic news 

institution. The book is also about 
Rosen’s life. “It is a book about 
family, about growing up. I want-
ed to leave a trail of the stories of 
my life,
” he said. 
His life includes the story of 
Leo Rosen, Rosen’s father. At age 
15, Leo Rosen was saved from the 
Holocaust by a Catholic family 
who hid him in their barn. The 
influence of his father is clear. 
“My father came here penniless 
and made a life for him and his 
family,
” he said. 
Since leaving CBS, Rosen has 

been producing some upcoming 
documentaries and lecturing 
around the country. His April 
5 Detroit appearance will sure-
ly support SOAR’s mission to 
enlighten, inform and educate. 
Tickets are $10 per person and 
available at www.soarexplore.
com or by calling (248) 626-0296. 
Zoom invitations will be distrib-
uted to ticket holders one day in 
advance. 

Wendy Rose Bice is SOAR interim 

executive director.

SOAR Lifelong Learning Institute to 
hold a conversation with producer 
Ira Rosen April 5.

Go Behind 
the Scenes at 
60 Minutes

Ira Rosen

WENDY ROSE BICE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS 

Bill Whitaker, 
Ira Rosena and 
Leslie Stahl

Ira Rosen with 
Mike Wallace 
behind the scenes 
at 60 Minutes

