60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the years. It is considered by many to be the preeminent investigative television program in the United States. The fall of 2008 will see the program's 40th anniversary, and it currently holds the record for the longest continuously running program of any genre scheduled during American network prime time; the longer-running Meet the Press has also aired in prime time, but currently airs during the daytime. The Disney anthology television series (which premiered in 1954), and the Hallmark Hall of Fame (since 1951) have aired longer, but none of them has aired in prime time continually, as 60 Minutes has done.

As of 2008, 60 Minutes is the only regularly scheduled television program in American television history not to have ever used any type of theme music. The only theme sound is from the signature Aristo stopwatch in the opening title credits, before each commercial break, and at the tail-end of the closing credits.