"60 Minutes" lands Obama interview

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - "60 Minutes" has snagged the first interview with President-elect Barack Obama.

The newsmagazine, which rocketed into the top-ranked position with last week's interviews with Obama's top advisers, will speak to Obama and the future first lady, Michelle Obama. The interview with Steve Kroft will take place Friday in Chicago and air Sunday.

It's likely to give "60 Minutes" another big boost, just seven days after it was the week's top-rated program with 18.5 million viewers.

"60 Minutes" had several sitdowns with Obama before Election Day, including a September 21 hourlong broadcast that featured Kroft's interview with Obama, and Scott Pelley's sitdown with Sen. John McCain. Obama and running mate Joe Biden were interviewed on "60 Minutes" on August 31, also by Kroft.

While the election is now more than two weeks past, the public has yet to get tired of hearing from the election principals. On Tuesday, McCain's first TV appearance after the election gave "The Tonight Show" its best Tuesday ratings since February 2007. And Sarah Palin has had a high media profile this week, with interviews on NBC's "Today," Fox News Channel's "On the Record With Greta van Susteren" and CNN's "The Situation Room" and "Larry King Live."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter