doi:10.7916/sn63-9881Oral history interview with Stephen F. Kroft, 2021Kroft, Stephenoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesJournalistsGlobal Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United StatesHealth care reform--United StatesIraq War, 2003-2011Afghan War, 2001-2021Benghazi Consulate Attack, Banghāzī, Libya, 2012Mass media--Political aspectsSyria History Civil War, 2011-Crimea (Ukraine) Annexation to Russia (Federation)Kroft, StephenObama, BarackColumbia University Alumni and alumnaeIS (Organization)United StatesPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act60 minutes (Television program)Stephen Kroft reflects on his career in broadcast journalism and discusses the seventeen interviews he conducted with Barack Obama from 2007 to 2017 for 60 Minutes on CBS. Kroft outlines the production of a presidential interview for 60 Minutes, describes the development of his rapport with the president, and provides details about interviews focused on major events and issues of the Obama presidency, including the 2008 financial crisis, healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act, the increased polarization of Washington politics, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Syrian Civil War, the rise of ISIS, and the Russian annexation of Crimea. Kroft also describes the kinds of questions he would put to the president, and considers Obama's preference for one-on-one interviews over group press conferences. Also discussed are the challenges of the contemporary presidency; Kroft's experience of the 2008, 2010, and 2012 election cycles; Obama's views on the national political press; coverage of the 2012 attack on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi and the rise of right-wing and conservative media; and the enduring importance of 60 Minutes in an era of considerable change in the media landscape