User Reviews

60 Minutes has some occasional moments of juice, but it lost its edge. 60 Minutes years ago was a lot more interesting, had harder-hitting stories, more "raw" interviews, capturing priceless moments on camera of innocence, guilt, glory, fame, whatever.

However, the show today is tired and boring. There is no gusto. Is it a coincidence that once Lowell Bergman left, the show started to suck? Anyone who saw The Insider knows the story here. 60 Minutes "sold its soul" in the 1990's due to the tobacco scandal. Stock-owning executives from 60 Minutes falsified dangers that 60 Minutes would be the target of billion-dollar lawsuits from tobacco companies that would fell CBS if they aired a controversial public news piece from a former tobacco executive.

A partial result of the fallout was that Lowell Bergman, the main producer of the 60 Minutes tobacco segment, left the show and now works for Frontline, a brilliant PBS documentary news show. Frontline is FAR more interesting and hard-hitting than 60 Minutes has been in years.

Back to 60 Minutes...they seems to "go easy" these days and have one easy to medium news story. They mix that with some other "profile" type story, and throw in a non-threatening interview with some easygoing person. Something a teenager with a camcorder could do (follow around some singer and throw in some good writing).

All very boring for the most part. Too easy, no more edge.

60 Minutes used to the finest show around. Frontline years ago supplanted it as the best investigative journalism show around.

I watch "60 Minutes" every week, but it's probably better now that Mike Wallace has retired. He always seemed too self-righteous and biased (maybe even sort of creepy); Lesley Stahl wasn't much better. Morley Safer, Steve Kroft and Ed Bradley are OK, but Andy Rooney...he's truly the show's highlight (I really like that he recently called for a massive reduction in military spending).

I wish to assert that some of their most important stories aired right after September 11, 2001. An example was an interview with Iraqi politician Tariq Aziz, who affirmed that Saddam Hussein's regime would never harbor Osama bin Laden (unfortunately, the Bush administration got many people to think otherwise). Another example was a look at Kuwait ten years after the Gulf War, and how the US was no longer very popular there. But also, their interviews with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were really insightful.

All in all, "60 Minutes" is a news magazine that I recommend. Just as long as you understand their occasional biases.

I began watching 60 Minutes around 1979. I was in high school and I have never stopped. As someone mentioned before me, it is definitely formula, but the formula definitely works. 20/20 and the multitude of other news shows that have attempted to imitate it have never come close. Watch this show and you will definitely learn something!

60 Minutes does something that the other shows like Primetime Live and Dateline try to capture. 60 Minutes is the top show if you're a serious journalist. If you're not, go elsewhere. On this show, ratings are always high and it was higher during the years before it led to Murder, She Wrote on Sunday nights. 60 Minutes has the best journalists around. They take their jobs seriously and treat every story as if it was the most important around. Some stories like Iraq, Afghanistan, Washington D.C., etc. deserve the attention and most of them do the best job around with research and they get the job done. They also do lighter stories like real estate, celebrity profiles, and other light-hearted stories like Netflix and Starbucks. Of course, you can't forget Andy Rooney who always gives us what he's thinking as it is. They don't talk down to the audience but they treat us with respect and intellect. They enlighten, inform, and educate us about certain issues. Lesley Stahl, the late Ed Bradley, Morley Safer, Peter Simon, and others are top notch journalists at the top of their peak. Don't forget the occasional story by Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour. Once you made 60 Minutes as a journalist, you're on top of the world.

Over the years I like many from time to time on Sunday evenings tune to CBS to watch the still number one rated news program on TV that being "60 minutes". It's stayed on top for it's style of interviews with famous people and it's investigative stories on cover up and scandal that involve politics and government. And the program has the latest stories on health news to alert people and stories of ordinary people are also featured as this news program does care about the average "Joe" or "Jane" and many stories involve reports on social issues like crime, poverty, environment, money, and even time to time reports on the sports world. My all time best host and favorite interview guy was the now late Mike Wallace. And must I say before I close out boy do I miss Andy Rooney though controversial I love his closing segment as his commentary was educational, thought provoking, and sentimental, his words of wit made you think about the change and wrongs of society as time had passed many of his closing words would take you back to yesterday and his words were even inspiring, historical, and well liked Andy is a great that is already missed to much. Overall "60 minutes" is an icon that's still lasting it's simply the best legendary news magazine around.

60 Minutes is one, if not the, classic show that tries to convey topics and contexts to viewers with investigative journalism and a longer airtime. One of the few programs still running that really journalistically deals with the world and what is happening in and on it, but does not always hit the nail on the head and has unfortunately become more and more sensational. Nevertheless, a show that is still worth paying attention to.

60 Minutes seemed to be created in a time when America needed answers --in depth, hard hitting, guerrilla journalism about the inner dealings in Washington, Corporations, the Heart of America - the pulse of the world politic. The gold standard with many imitators, 60 Minutes could run as long as there is a need for finding the REAL truth in what effects us beyond the "evening news".

60 Minutes reporters asked the hard questions and KEPT asking the hard questions - many times revealing things publicly that we already suspected. It gave us facts, so that we could to draw our own conclusions and DO something about what we were presented.

60 Minutes was a public service. A place to go to to find out what corruption is occurring and what happens while we sleep. It was also a place to see the best interviews with heads of countries we knew nothing about.

Now in 2006, 60 Minutes is still around. A little bruised and battered for a younger generation who feels that news has to have a punch line like a variety show, and that there is no reason to care about what a corporation is doing beyond what Tina Fey jokes about on Saturday Night Live.

60 Minutes is reality programming. Reality journalism and to be honest -as a young person, I had no reason to sit and watch. Reality news journalism is frightening. It was my "parent's" show.

Now that I am older and look back, I was dead wrong and wished I had the sense I have now to pay more attention to 60 Minutes than I did.

The 60 Minutes Producers, Reporters and Researchers over the years put their lives and careers on the line many, many times - even against their own employer - CBS, CBS Corporate, etc, to try to bring us as straight of scoop as allowed - and break as much as they could - so we could all be informed and DO something about it. Bless them all.

And then there is Andy Rooney. Everyone's 'cantancerous' grand-dad. You may not agree with EVERYTHING he says, but when you do, it's time to do something about it.

Now 60 Minutes has reached a turning point, they are at a time when they need to introduce new VETERAN journalists that would have the same heart, drive and ambition as the ones before them - and I hope they do. And there in lies the tale of 60 Minutes. Journalist who are vets in their field, and not high priced entertainment fluff who can read a teleprompter and cry on cue.

I hope that I am wrong that Network Journalism is about the money and not about the story - the dirty, non-glamorous America and World news that lets us know that major corporations are dirt and will bowl over anyone for a buck, that American Farmers need help, that Presidents can't give a good interview and lie, that dictators need to be taken down before their ego gets any larger, that War is Hell, that regular food products can be dangerous, that addition occurs with additives that are secretly placed in places we wouldn't ave thought of, that Small Business is just as Bad as Corporations these days, that racism and sexism still exist, that one little person writing to Congress does not go unnoticed and that Congress and the Senate can abuse kids just like the guy down the street, etc. etc.

The World has NOT stopped turning -- and neither has 60 Minutes. As long as it is around, it keeps folks in check. And keeps other networks scrambling for competition. It's all good, for us.

There was a joke that went around the corporate community for many years. It went something like this:

"I know our company is doing okay because I don't see Mike Wallace or Ed Bradley coming into the building with a camera crew."

Exactly.

Not only is this show the top shelf standard by which all other news shows measure themselves it is, and has been for 40 years, IMHO, the single best show on television. 60 minutes has been directly responsible for breaking some of the most important stories of the last 40 years. With little exception, the stories and the reporting of them have been absolutely first rate. Over the years I have watched incredibly informative and interesting episodes with the Ayatollah Khomeini, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Johnny Carson, Michael Jordan, and a multitude of really despicable con men and businesspeople. Anyone who is unfamiliar with the story of 60 minutes and Big Tobacco should research it and then see the movie The Insider. KUDOS all around for this show, I wish there a lot more like it telling the real story of so many other things that are going on!! And Andy Rooney is the best two minutes of TV you will ever see anywhere.

Sadly journalism is dead. This is a rag of propaganda. This is a show I grew up on. Has some stories been biased before? Yes. But today it isn't just bias, it down right lies. It would be sad to cancel this show. But it definitely needs new management and actual journalist.

"60 Minutes" is definitely the originator of all the great television news magazines. Every Sunday night for several years I have either watched the show or listened to it on the local CBS radio affiliate here in Los Angeles. To me "60 Minutes" works in two different ways. The first is as an investigative program that looks hard at very controversial issues that the public should be made aware of. The show also is great at doing wonderful celebrity profiles. It really allows the general public to look at the lives of various celebrities and show what they are like once the spotlight is off. Of course, the show has its detractors who say that it has become very self important, but this will always be to me one of the most influential shows in the history of television.

"60 MINUTES," in my opinion, is a good news magazine show. I enjoy seeing Mike Wallace as the main anchor. All this time, before I found out he passed away in 1991, I thought that Harry Reasoner had been fired that same year. When I leaned the truth, I was really sad. If you ask me, it seems that nobody stays with a TV show throughout its entire run anymore. Still, I enjoyed hearing him report about what was happening in the world. I still think about him to this day. Upon learning of Ed Bradley's death, I was really sad. I didn't even know he had been battling cancer. The only things I don't like hearing about are when someone has been murdered or gone missing. Now, in conclusion, I'd like to say that Harry Reasoner and Ed Bradley were fine reporters who will be sorely missed.

This is such a fascinating program! I love how they do a deep dive within subject areas such as espionage, data breaches, global warming, and other worldwide issues. They cover stories you don't hear about in the news. With all of the garbage on TV, it's nice to see something informational.

50 seasons ago, CBS News came up with a newsmagazine that aired on Sunday nights for an hour called 60 minutes; the show's trademark was and remains a stopwatch with a ticking noise that would signal the timing of each segment and ended the show with the dial reaching the end of the hour. The most watched news program on broadcast TV, 60 Minutes is to Sunday night what CBS Sunday Morning is to Sunday morning, in which it differs in stories. There are great interviews with celebrities and news figures interspersed with footage and there's hardly any music themes.

Shame on you, @CBSNews - you and your ilk are fakers of the highest order, and we'll find somewhere else to spend our Sunday evenings than watching your once respectable show. Several recent news stories on "60 Minutes" have fully exposed it as the tabloid trash it has become, with stories edited to fit narratives rather than actually hiring competent reporters and allowing them to do their jobs. Goodbye to journalism - credibility gone, lies and illusions completely obvious to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention.

Until recently I set my dvr to record the show for years However given the 1 sided attack I witnessed the other day with our President I no longer support this show These were not neutral reporting questions, hard questions are fine, but these were provoked with a vicious attitude extreme bias & one sided..On purpose! Im done! Bye bye 60 mins.

60 Hours (seems like it) is Western propaganda and Disinformation covering...Elliot Higgins and Bellingscat! Corporate media is state media. Bellingcat is openly-funded by Western governments (especially, the U.S.). '60 Minutes' is making Bellingcat seem like a real, independent "journalism" entity. It is an arm of imperialism. They have no expertise with which to make conclusions about "gas attacks" in Syria (which have been debunked) or alleging Russia shot down MH-17 over Syria. All they do is watch videos on social media to "analyze" the "how", "when", and "where" of some alleged war crime almost always leveled at Russia and Syria only. That's interesting...

Once upon a time, 60 minutes was in fact the gold standard for reporting on world affairs and local issues of import. Long before the "information age" and the internet, it brought places, concepts and issues most Americans would never experience into their homes, along with other topics of the day that most Americans cared about or were affected by. Those days have long been replaced by ultra-liberal op-ed and deliberate bias. In S52E10 there were 2 stories which seemed to exemplify this; 1. the topic of Youtube where the CEO is being accused of "not doing enough" to stem the tide of "hate speech", mistress dye-job says "and that means hearing from people with odious messages..." as they juxtapose a female conservative youtuber. The facelift-queen also goes on to say a specific ad is "not true", when the argument for whether or not this ad is true is still being investigated and is far from conclusive. In other words, we get this story from the viewpoint of the dye-job, and not just the facts presented. 2. When Scott Pelley goes to Lalibella in Ethiopia to talk about the incredible architectural masterworks, he cloyingly smirks and mocks the beliefs of the people and the people he's interviewing. He sarcastically quips "As the story goes, he was helped by angels" to a master architect, as if to say, "aren't you backwards little brown Christians cute with your stories". This arrogant racist couldn't even take two minutes to learn how to pronounce the priest who administers the site, calling him "Tagay Salay Mezgeboo" when his name is Tsigie Selassie Mezgebu (anyone who doesn't at least know how to say the name Selassie seriously has mayonaise flowing through their veins). In sum, this program has degenerated into an amateuristic propaganda machine for the left...not worth watching at all anymore, now that there are other ways to learn about the world and reality.

60 Minutes is, most definatly, the gold standard. They find out things that no one else can find out, and they can break stories no one else has even heard of. They get interviews with the people who matter and bring the stories that matter to the public. It is truly the one and only REAL news show left. Not a 60 second sound clip that tells you nothing, but an in depth look. They ask the tough questions, to the tough people, and get it all right. Theres a reason it has been on the show for so many years, and is one of the most popular programs in history even today.

There was a time, decades ago, when 60 Minutes did investigative journalism. Now 60 Minutes is an obvious tool for the DNC, the Pentagon, and the CIA. If they're not cheerleading for the next war then they're selling a book from Simon & Schuster, their parent company. 60 minutes should investigate the website Myrotvorets. This US taxpayer funded website has lists of US citizens, and Congressional members, who have been targeted for arrest or termination. Myrotvorets posts photographs, addresses, and phone numbers of the targets on the lists. Once the target is dead their photo has big red letters across saying: "liquidated."

Myrotvorets lists thousands of people, some are no longer alive. Journalists, celebrities, and politicians of fame include: Senator Rand Paul, former Congresswoman and Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters. Eva Bartlett (journalist). Chris Hedges, Glenn Greenwald, political scientist John Mearsheimer. Henry Kissinger. Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli who was murdered. In the news, Darya Dugina was "liquidated" recently. Geoff Young, who is on the Kentucky Democratic Congressional ticket, is also on the Ukrainian government hit list. CIA veteran Ray McGovern is listed. Diane Sare, who is running for US Senate in New York, is a target for liquidation. Colonel Richard Black, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former State Senator from Virginia is listed by Myrotvorets. Also former Marine Intelligence Officer Scott Ritter is a target for assassination. This website is based in the United States, in Langley Virginia.

Please 60 Minutes investigate the US taxpayer funded Myrotvorets, an admitted "CIA Project Website"

With the explosion of news magazine shows on the prime-time airwaves, it is useful to remember the long-running program that producers are trying to emulate: 60 Minutes.

This show combines investigative journalism, celebrity profiles, and features about interesting organizations and events. When it's a serious subject, you feel like they have fairly and objectively reported the story. Even with lighter topics you get the impression 60 Minutes has captured the essence of the story.

Each segment is about 15 minutes long; we get three in every one-hour show. When the subject is something serious, the viewer has the option of following up in detail on other sources.

Sure, it's a formula, but the 60 Minutes people perfected the formula. No one else on commercial television does such good journalism.

Why has this show consistently placed near the top of the ratings for three decades? Because it's damn good. Why do people tune into 60 Minutes every week, despite the fact that during football season it is often delayed due to long-running games? Because they know that 60 Minutes will deliver.

Jack and Shana's debates in the 70s were a little much to take, and I can't stand Andy Rooney's musings, but the core of the show has remained solid.

They did a hit piece in a hot political climate. Not a good show at all any longer. A tool for the democratic left. Propaganda TV.

This is the news show to which other news shows aspire, and none has ever even come close. This show has been on for 35 years because people trust it. They know that what they see and hear will be the unvarnished, unbiased truth; while a fatuous blowhard like Bill O'Reilly can call his show "The No-Spin Zone" when it is actually nothing BUT spin, viewers know that "60 Minutes" doesn't "spin" anything; it's not afraid to take on powerful people, institutions and corporations, and in fact has even raked its own network over the coals on more than one occasion. The show has a reputation for integrity that is unparalleled in the history of TV, and the fact that it has often elicited howls of protest from both the right and the left because of its coverage or investigations of issues or people "sacred" to those particular political philosophies is testimony to its effectiveness. This show is as good as it's possible to get.