Richard S. Salant for nine years and would become the president of the CBS News Division when Stanton appointed him in February of 1961. Salant was president of CBS News from 1961 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1979. The "New York Times" credits him with raising professional standards and expanding news programming at CBS. During his tenure, CBS was the first network to expand its week-night news report to 30 minutes. Under his leadership, CBS also introduced "60 Minutes" and the "CBS Morning News" and "Sunday Morning" programs. Salant's first major decision was to replace Douglas Edwards with Walter Cronkite. At this
Walter Cronkite a "Freedom of the Press" George Polk Award and the Paul White Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. In 1972, in recognition of his career, Princeton University's American Whig-Cliosophic Society awarded Cronkite the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service. In 1981, the year he retired, former president Jimmy Carter awarded Cronkite the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In that year, he also received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards, and the Paul White Award for lifetime achievement from the Radio Television Digital News