MovieChat Forums > 60 Minutes (1968) Discussion > 60 Minutes has become a tabloid joke

60 Minutes has become a tabloid joke

posted 8 years ago by GrammarMatters
5 replies | jump to latest

There was a time, years ago, and for decades, that 60 Minutes was a highly respected valuable investigative news show that protected the public by digging into issues of concern to the great majority of the population.

Then the program was 'bought' and taken over by those with right wing, republican political opinions, and now, this pathetic former icon does puff pieces that glorify sports stars and celebrities.

An example of just how low this show has sunk is this critical story in Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/22/how-60-minutes-played-telephone-with-public-hacking-hysteria/

[–] politicidal 8 years ago

I agree. It's become a tool of the establishment.

What's missing in movies is same as in society: a good sense of work ethic and living up to ideals.

[–] graysonmeyer 8 years ago

I think it's smart.

They have these human interest pieces on celebs, athletes, etc, in an effort to attract a new, younger audience; an audience under the age of say 60?

The baby boomers ain't gettin any younger. They're gotta get a new generation of eyeballs on the show.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 3 years ago

And you do that by educating and informing, which has ALWAYS been the goal of journalism. You don’t do it by pandering.

Unless you think young people today are dumber than young people were 30 years ago, which would tell me you’re not 30 years old.

[–] Satan2016 (23273) 3 years ago

Are you insane? Democrats and the lying MSM are the establishment!

[–] TMC-4 (19392) a year ago

60 Minutes Viewers Can't Help But Notice The Show's Unfortunate Decline Over The Years

https://www.looper.com/1174889/60-minutes-viewers-cant-help-but-notice-the-shows-unfortunate-decline-over-the-years/

BY JOE CAPRARO/UPDATED: JAN. 22, 2023 10:17 AM EST

"60 Minutes" premiered in September of 1968 with an inside look at the competing presidential election campaigns of Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey (via IMDb). Nixon would go on to win comfortably that November (via 270 to Win), capping off a tumultuous year for the U.S. that saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. King's murder sparked riots in Detroit, and violent protests at that year's Democratic convention gave the fledgling news magazine plenty of big stories to cover in its first year on the air.

During its 55 seasons, top-name journalists like Ed Bradley, Dan Rather, Connie Chung, Charlie Rose, Charles Kuralt, and Diane Sawyer have built their reputations appearing on the venerable program which has broadcast well over 2,000 episodes as of this writing.

Throughout its 55 seasons, "60 Minutes" has spotlighted numerous wars and elections, the rocky end of Conan O'Brien's tenure with NBC, and the 2011 capture of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, at the time the FBI's No. 1 most wanted criminal (via YouTube). But over its five-plus decades on air, the investigative teeth of "60 Minutes" have gradually worn down, and current viewers have taken notice and begun to make their opinions known on social media.