TV newsmagazines: 60 Minutes, Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours etc - Do you watch any of them?

Well, do you?

  • Yes, I still watch at least one news show like this on a regular basis.

    Votes: 4 30.8%

  • No, that shit's for old people. We have the Internet now.

    Votes: 9 69.2%
  • Total voters
    13
G

Guestx

Guest
Just curious.

Last night I watched The Insider, and a lot of the story revolves around 60 Minutes. A key plot element is a story they are planning to run about Big Tobacco and how explosive this story could be and how huge of an impact it could have on the tobacco industry. It's considered to be a VERY BIG DEAL since, at the time, 60 Minutes still had the viewership to move mountains.

I still DVR 60 Minutes and make a point to actually watch it every once in a while. Sometimes I'll also watch Dateline, 20/20 and 48 Hours.

It made me wonder about the relevance of 60 Minutes and similar programs today. Do any of you guys watch any of these programs, or something similar? What social impact do you think programs like this are able to have today?
 
By the time they do any story, they are already 60 minutes too late. The internet has ruined those shows. And that show is only like 48 minutes long, bunch of BS.

Im barbara walters, Im leslie stall...those stories and more tonight on 60 minutes. What was on before it that I would remember this?
 
chrisdiaz said:
By the time they do any story, they are already 60 minutes too late. The internet has ruined those shows. And that show is only like 48 minutes long, bunch of BS.

Im barbara walters, Im leslie stall...those stories and more tonight on 60 minutes. What was on before it that I would remember this?
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I feel like these kinds of shows serve a different need than the up-to-the-minute news that you get from the Internet.

For one, they tell a lot of stories that you otherwise just would not even hear about. For instance, recently 60 Minutes did a story on a chess program in some rural town in Mississippi that's being headed by a secretive millionaire. That particular story wasn't hard-hitting news but it was interesting and something I had no idea about. In fact, I'd say that MOST stories that get covered by these programs are stories that I was not familiar with at all, despite having hours of daily exposure to the Internet.

For another, they are able to land important interviews with major public figures, including world and industry leaders.

I mostly watch 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. 60 Minutes provides interesting news while 48 Hours gives me my true crime fix. But I sometimes watch Dateline and 20/20 as well. Like I said, I DVR all four of them every week.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
Don't some of you true crime/mystery guys at least watch 48 Hours from time to time?

@MoparOrNoCar? You ever fucked with 48 Hours, @DaleBoca?
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I haven't watched 60 minutes in years.

48 Hours is something I'll watch if I'm home sick during the day. I'm just not a big fan of the production of those shows. I kind of like the creepier lower production shows better like UM, Cold Case Files, American Justice, FBI Files, Forensic Files, City Confidential and The New Detectives.
 
MoparOrNoCar said:
I haven't watched 60 minutes in years.

48 Hours is something I'll watch if I'm home sick during the day. I'm just not a big fan of the production of those shows. I kind of like the creepier lower production shows better like UM, Cold Case Files, American Justice, FBI Files, Forensic Files, City Confidential and The New Detectives.
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What exactly would you say is your issue with the production?
 
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shadow_priest_x said:
What exactly would you say is your issue with the production?
Click to expand...

Not creepy enough. Too clean. Too new. Just doesn't quite hold my interest enough for some reason. I can't really explain why but it's much more interesting when a guy named Randy in a jean jacket and mullet committed the crime, rather than a jealous dad named Scott that lives in the suburbs in a nice house.

I'm probably just weird about it.
 
I watch them pretty regularly, though always re-runs in the evenings or early mornings. Haven't seen 60 Minutes in years though.
 
I used to occasionally watch the news shows, since I like how they'll go more in depth. Now I usually stick to Last week Tonight since I like how they mix a lot of humor into serious topics while still giving the topics the respect they deserve.
 
MoparOrNoCar said:
Not creepy enough. Too clean. Too new. Just doesn't quite hold my interest enough for some reason. I can't really explain why but it's much more interesting when a guy named Randy in a jean jacket and mullet committed the crime, rather than a jealous dad named Scott that lives in the suburbs in a nice house.

I'm probably just weird about it.
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I agree that these shows have a very "clean" and polished look to them. I don't love it, but I guess I don't hate it either. It's certainly not something that makes me not want to watch.

20/20 did a great special episode recently called A Killing on the Cape.

During the winter of 2002, the quiet Cape Cod community of Truro was rocked, when a former New York City fashion writer was found murdered inside her home. As correspondent Susan Spencer reports, almost everyone in the town became a suspect, when police decided to take a look at the entire male population.
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If you're interested, you can check out the whole ep here:

http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2017-11/24-112417-a-killing-on-the-cape
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Agent Mulder's Hair, I noticed you clicked "No" but I also know you get into true crime stuff.

You don't even get into 48 Hours or the true crime eps of 20/20 or Dateline?
 
shadow_priest_x said:
What shows do you watch specifically?
Click to expand...
I probably can’t list them all since I don’t watch any by any particular schedule. But mostly the ones that focus on crime mystery. 48 Hours, Dateline, Forensic Files, and a variety of shows on ID, though some times its hard to watch the terrible acting on ID.
 
I havent watched these types of shows as much ever since American Justice and Cold Case Files both with Bill Curtis had their run. Those 2 shows I loved.

Dateline is good.
 
One thing I'll give 20/20 credit for is variety.

60 Minutes is mainstream news coverage: politics, consumer affairs and human interest stories, especially. 48 Hours and Dateline are entirely focused on true crime.

But 20/20 mixes it up. One week it may be a true crime story but the next it might be an investigative piece on North Korea. I'd think the variety probably makes it an enjoyable show for the journalists who work on it.

Also, 20/20 is a cool name.
 
I watched 60 Minutes regularly up until i cut cable a year ago. Its a well done show though.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
Do you not still have access to your local channels?
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Nah I can't get OTA because of the some buildings around me and so far I realized the amount of content between Youtube/Netflix/Amazon Prime is more than enough for the amount of TV I watch. If I ever end up getting Youtube TV i'd watch 60 mins.
 
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