Steve Hartman — whose feel good stories have become a staple for CBS News programs — is hoping his long-gestating special will send an important message to CBS. In The Gift: Kindness Goes Viral (Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET), the longtime news personality not only plans to show that kindness can spread (he even asks an MIT professor to come up with a formula), he hopes his bosses at the Eye will take notice that programs like this can make a difference to viewers.
The special examines how one simple act of kindness can create a ripple effect, whether it’s giving a haircut to a homeless man or helping pay for an adoption. Hartman’s popular On the Road stories that show up on the CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday ultimately inspired the special.
“First, I think if everyone watched, this Gift could change America for the better,” Hartman tweeted. “Second, CBS needs to know there is a yearning for news programming that inspires and unites. If we send that message Wednesday, we may not have to wait another 20 years for the sequel!”
