As much as I'd like to wake up at 11:30 AM on
Sundays and go straight to a plate of corned-beef hash and eggs, I'm noticing that my body doesn't agree with that
view; as I get older, I get up earlier. So, when I flick on the TV at around 9 AM, my choices are limited. More often
than not, I chose to watch CBS Sunday Morning, hosted by Charles Osgood.Why? Because they talk about interesting topics and interview interesting people. And the subjects are not chosen because of their newsworthiness; they're chosen because there is something interesting about their lives that no one seems to explore. For instance, if they decided to interview a newsworthy guy like Brad Pitt, they wouldn't ask him about Jen or Angelina; they'd ask him about his love of architecture. I mean, who even knew that Pitt was an architecture buff?
This interesting article by Jon Friedman at Marketwatch sheds some light on how the show, which has changed little since its debut in 1979, picks its topics, and how it tries to keep an upbeat tone (not "happy talk," mind you, which is what irritates me about most morning news shows. They just have an optimistic tone to most of their stories).
Indeed, that's one of the things I like about the show; also, as a "journalist", I seem to be saying more often than not as I watch the profiles, "Damn, I'd love to interview that guy!" But I also like the informational pieces, David Pogue's tech stories, David Edelstein's movie reviews, and Bill Geist's pieces about quirky Americans; heck, I even like Ben Stein's and Nancy Giles' commentaries, even if I tend to disagree with both of them.
(By the way, during a "opinion-off" about illegal immigration last week, Stein and Giles took views that were opposite what regular viewers would expect, but still couched those views with reasons that reflected their usual political stances. Both did a very nice job of stating their cases.)
The show really does come off as a TV version of the Sunday paper, very relaxed and informative, which is exactly what I'm looking for on Sunday mornings. What I wonder about as I watch, though, is if I'm the only person my age (34) who watches this program. The ads seem to be geared more towards viewers my parents' age, and it seems like bloggers under 40 (hello, Gawker!) like to make fun of the show, saying it's an "old people's show" that "no one watches."
Gee, I dunno... I'd much rather watch Osgood and company than the irritating frat boys on ESPN, any number of silly televangelists, creepy children's shows, or yet another fashion show on GMA or Today.
So can you under-40 Sunday Morning watchers come out of the closet and help a brother out? Leave a comment and help me feel like less of an old man.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-10-2008 @ 11:58AM
Cameron said...
I'm 30. I've been watching since I was a kid. Unfortunately I live in Los Angeles and it's 6:30 am air time is usually just too early for me. When those "favorite tv show" conversations come up with friends, nobody ever knows what I'm talking about. And I love it. CBS Sunday Morning is part of what makes me unique. My girlfriend calls me old when I talk about it. But thats okay. With age comes wisdom.
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6-17-2008 @ 9:12AM
mort silver said...
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4-07-2006 @ 5:23PM
Bob Sassone said...
Hey, wait a second: I'm 40...are you saying I'm old? :)
I watch the show too, for exactly the same reasons you do (I mess Steve Hartman's reports, where he'd go to a town, pick a name of out of phone book at random, then go do a story on them).
The last minute of the show, where they show a pond or birds flying or cows grazing or something else in nature? That's the most serene part of my week...
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4-07-2006 @ 6:40PM
chris dinges said...
i am way under 40 and i love cbs sunday morning. they always manage to find interesting stuff. steve hartman and bill geist are the greatest. i am 28 and i love it. maybe i am getting old?
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4-07-2006 @ 6:52PM
Dawn said...
I've just turned 30 but I've been watching Sunday Morning (when I'm not at work, of course) since high school. It gives me hope that in this world of negetive news that there is a show and reporters that sees the glass as half full...
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4-07-2006 @ 6:55PM
dirtgirl said...
I'm 36 and have been watching it for at least a decade. It's sad but it's one of the few shows that does any type of in-depth reporting on much of anything (aside from Frontline and 60 Minutes). I also love Steve Hartman, but Nancy Giles really bugs. Thanks to Tivo, I skip over that part, but always watch the nature porn at the end. Sometimes I turn up the sound and rewind particularly loud bird chirping over and over to freak out my cats.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:00PM
ZR said...
It was one of my first 'family traditions'... my mother and I would make breakfast, read the paper, and then watch CBS Sunday Morning together. I'm 22 years old and I've been watching it as long as I can remember. It's just a really great informative show.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:03PM
Linda said...
Love the show. It's really a nice way to start a sunday morning.My grandson watches it with me sometimes,and he's 11. It's informative and sometimes very relaxing. A young 55 year old.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:17PM
Jenn said...
Well, I have to say that I love CBS Sunday Morning, its one of the thngs I look forward to seeing every weekend along with Saturday Night Live, and Grey's Anatomy. I am very much under 40. I am 16 years old. I don't think I am getting old, I just enjoy thier news and opinions very much. I ask myself does anyone under 20 watch it?
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4-07-2006 @ 7:27PM
Photoscribe said...
I _love_ for CBS Sunday Morning! Though substantially over 40, I've always liked the artsy way the show is couched and the intelligent way excerpts are presented. Oddly enough, it's one of the few "CBS-y" shows CBS has left, since the network decided to ape the other two VHF webs, especially on the _weekday_ morning show front! It preserves the intelligent approach CBS used to have to just about everything it did once, "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan Island" notwithstanding...
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4-07-2006 @ 7:28PM
Linda Weisser said...
Well, first of all, I'm NOT under 40. I just turned 49 in fact!! Eeeek!!! But anyway, I started watching Sunday Morning in 1979 (when it started and I was just 22). I lived in Denver at the time and the next year I moved to North Dakota. Guess what! They pre-empted Sunday Morning with various church shows! I was SO depressed! For the three years to follow (while my husband attended law school) I mounrned every Sunday for the stories I was missing. When it was time for my husband to apply for openings and get a law position would you believe one of the TOP reasons I gave him for looking out of state was that I missed Sunday Morning so much and couldn't stand living in a place that wouldn't show it!1 Well, we have spent the last 20+ plus years in Washington State and I don't think I've missed a single show. I've taped or TIVO'd it during the few times I was on a camping trip or something! I didn't even miss it on our cruises, they had U.S. stations!
I think that this show is for any teen on up who's interested in news, culture and a love of the arts! My own kids (all in their 20's) love the show too but unfortunatly it comes on at 7:30am here in Seattle. They'll only watch it taped. They aren't as devoted as I have always been.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:32PM
Lee J. Smith said...
While I am slightly above the age limit, I have been watching Sunday Morning since its inception. It is a TV highlight of the week for me, to see it as an old persons show is to ceed too much to the over 40 crowd. Don't shy away from aligning yourself with a literate, well produced and entertaing show.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:32PM
Todd said...
I love Sunday Morning. I just turned 40, but have been watching for 5 years and find the stories to give me things to think about as I start my week. But on a down side, I hate Nancy Giles, who spews racist thoughts that would put anyone else in jail! But if you don't go to church on sunday mornings, you better be watching this show!
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4-07-2006 @ 7:35PM
Roslyn said...
I just turned 38 two days ago and I have been watching Sunday Morning for about fifteen years now. I started watching because my father had it on every Sunday morning while we ate breakfast before going to church. I very rarely miss the show and watch it even when I'm on vacation. The stories are great and I love the depth they go into.
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4-07-2006 @ 7:56PM
ell said...
CBS Sunday Morning sets the tone for my sunday. Glad it is not a news magazine type show like Dateline. It is educational and informitive. At the end of the newscast when they are filming nature with out sound is great. Hope they never change.
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4-07-2006 @ 8:13PM
Barbara said...
While my husband and I are over 40 now, but we have been watching for over 15 years, and several different hosts. My husband and sons love sports, but they wouldn't dare turn on ESPN or any football analysis until after the "quiet time" at the end of the show.
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4-07-2006 @ 8:15PM
Shirley said...
I always look forward to Sunday Morning.
Been a viewer since Charles Kurwalt hosted.
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4-07-2006 @ 8:20PM
Tommi said...
I'm 32 and have been watching for about 10 years. I love Charles Osgood and my husband always comes into the living room around 10 to catch Bill Geist's segments.
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4-07-2006 @ 9:19PM
Evan Adams said...
I'm 26 and have been watching it for 6 years (since the 2000 election). BUT only when my TIVO records it as a suggestion.
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4-07-2006 @ 9:31PM
Sarah said...
I'm 30 and I love CBS Sunday morning. It's always interesting and it's exactly the right tone and pace for a lazy Sunday. They take their time and tell a story rather than assulting us with rapid fire news and slick animations.
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