I noticed recently that there are really only two TV shows that I try to watch on a regular basis. There are other shows or movies I might watch if I happen to come across them, but these two I make a specific effort to see.
The first show is 60 Minutes.
I’ve been watching 60 Minutes off and on for as long as I can remember. When I was a small kid watching the ticking stop watch was one ways my parents taught me to tell time. Today one of the things that still draws me to 60 Minutes is that they cover a range of topics, a single place I can go to and get good stories with some variety.
One example of this variety is the Joy in the Congo: A musical miracle story. This wasn’t necessarily “news” in the traditional sense, instead it feels more like traditional journalism.
I still miss the Andy Rooney segments they used to have at the end of most shows, before he died in 2011.
The next show is Meet the Press.
Tim Russert was the moderator when I first started watching Meet the Press, I thought he did a great job. It was a sad time during the summer of 2008 when Tim Russert had died at the age 58. The current moderator, David Gregory, seems to do ok. Still, just isn’t the same without Tim Russert.
Meet the Press focuses mainly on the political hot topics of the day. They generally have a politician or two as guests, combined with a panel segment. Sadly I often find the politician portions of the show less interesting because those guests tend to evade answering many of the questions. The times when the panel segment really shines is in bringing additional context to various issues and topics.
Just like regular real life politics I don’t always agree with everyone on the show, but that is one part of why I enjoy it. It gives me some exposure to a few different angles on the issues they cover.
Broadcast, cable, satellite, and Internet TV is going through major changes. It isn’t entirely clear what they’ll look like in 10 years, but you can be sure it will be different than what we have today. Both of the shows I mentioned have been running for a long time, longer than I’ve been alive. I hope they continue to thrive even while the way we watch them changes.