CBS News last Saturday announced that the legendary Mike Wallace, the "60 Minutes" pit-bull reporter whose probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview - a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago - died.
He was 93 and passed away peacefully, surrounded by family members at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Conn., where he spent the past few years.
In his book "Heat and light," Wallace commented on how he deplored the focus on "opinion, gossip and scandal" that has become the norm in the 24-hour news cycle.
TV news, Wallace said, has become "yammer, yammer, yammer. It's infotainment. It used to be race to the top. To a certain degree, news today is a race to the bottom."
