The overnight preliminary ratings are in for the Sunday, January 27th episode of 60 Minutes. That’s the episode where Steve Kroft interviewed both President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. About 11.5 million people tuned in.
Some added perspective should be noted in regards to Sunday’s pre-recorded interview. When 60 Minutes was the #1 ranked show on television from 1979-1980, it averaged 28.5 viewers a week. The difference between 28 million and a little over 11 million viewers is quite substantial. Furthermore, the Obama/Clinton Sunday interview beat out the NFL Pro Bowl, an all-star game that has little significance, in the 6pmCST hour by roughly half-million viewers. What do you attribute the drop off in television viewers from 1980 to today? Did you watch the 60 Minutes interview? If so, what did you think of it?
Politics Matters 
In 1979-1980 people didn’t have TiVo to record shows and watch them later. They didn’t have cell phones, or internet to get information. Also 60 Minutes’ popularity has fallen off since then. An additional reason for the drop in views is that 60 Minutes is showing in a prime TV slot when there are more channels and shows then ever attracting viewers. With that being said, I feel less people are interested in the words of our leaders because we already have a view implanted in our mind of them and don’t wish to hear anything more they would have to say. Politics are looked down on and laughed at more than ever that people would rather get a comedic laugh on a Sunday night then watch more politicians talk when they have become accustomed to lies.
As our society moves forward to a new era of technology, our generation appear to be attracted to internet videos, social network, mobile phones, and video games. All this new technology played a significance role in decreasing the rate of people who watches television, unfortunately this technology helped a great deal in drifting the mind of our generation toward insignificance matters, such as games with no value what so ever these games offer nonsense Ideas that is ruining our generation minds.
As for the Steve Kroft interview with the president and the secretary of state Clinton,I think that the president wanted to emphasize on Hilary’s fine job as secretary of the state and he wanted to show the public regardless of the battle that they went through during the presidential campaign; they both came together as one team to help in building a better future for our country. I do admire the president words when he described at a talented lady the fact that he did conceder Clinton as a great fit to the position
i did not watch the interview. i think that now alot of people have more on their minds then watching tv. more households have to have two working parents to earn an income and not just one. I think that the rating has dropped because of the other choices of shows out there more people would prefer to watch something funny that can get their mind off of issues, instead of watching a program that addresses them.
I was not able to watch this program because I was working. Although, I believe the viewers stopped watching because there are so many other shows that doesn’t have to have their brains thinking and working. For example, the show Honey Boo Boo is a rediculous show but people watch it to take their mind of other serious matters. Politics can start or cause many issues about the issues going on, so many people do not like to watch political shows.
I did not catch Obama and Clinton on 60 Minutes, and quite frankly I wouldn’t have planned on it even if I was home. I think that people tend to not watch as much television as before because television was still fairly new back then, whereas now it is not as much of a privilege but a part of everyday life. Lately the only TV I watch are kid’s shows since I am a babysitter and sports when I go out. Other than that TV is not too important to me. Personally I think that people don’t watch as much TV now because more and more people try to work as much as they can to earn extra money since so many people are in debt or just simply need the extra cash. The reason I don’t necessarily watch so much is because I work, have homework for school, and when I have free time I usually do things outside of the house.
Out of speculation, I think the reason there was a large drop off of viewers was because T.V back in the 1980’s did not have very many channels for one, and for two, I think people were more politically inclined than they are today. I think people are a little more concerened with their own daily in and outs rather than politics. I personally did not watch the 60 minutes interview. Frankly, I was unaware that there was an interview and if I had known, I might have tuned in. Also, with hundreds of more channels, ipads, and the overall advancement in technology it only makes sense that there was a drop in views.
I did not watch the 60 minutes interview with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Like most people I was either at work or running errands, but if I was watching television I honestly would not have watched this episode simply for not being interested. Today’s media is always in close reach, every day when you go on Yahoo they have one story about something in politics and even listening to the radio you will hear what going on in politics. So I think people aren’t interested because we are constantly hearing about politics.
I would think that the technology has impacted the rate in TV viewers. If you can get the show or the main point of the interview on the internet, what hope is there for TV? Look at the Super Bowl commercials. Until the 2000’s the ads were kept a secret. Now they are releasing the full ads now. If you can beat your rival by releasing your ad first, then more people will talk about your ad first and forget about your rival’s ad. You also have to watch out, if you just watch the snippet of the show you could not get the whole context of the show.
I honeslty hardly ever watch TV. Im really never home and if I am im doing homework or cleaning. I don’t know what comes on T.V. Also, in todays time we have other ways of reading and reviewing the news, for instance, a computer and simply internet on a phone. Thats why I was unable to watch the 60 mintue interview.
I did not watch the 60 Minutes episode, because I was most likely working on homework or hanging out with friends at the time. I think that not only have the views gone down for 60 Minutes, but also for other television shows as well.There are so many different shows to watch, and people can now only record the ones they want to see. I barely watch TV anymore and have mostly directed all my time towards school work and being on the internet. People are no longer involved with watching TV as much, because our generation is used to having so many programs and with a fast paced generation many people don’t have the time to watch anything at all. I also think that people aren’t as involved with their government as in the past, and that people may find politics boring and decide that watching the 60 Minutes episode would be a waste of time. I can almost guarantee that if I asked my grandparents whether or not they watched it that they would say that they tuned in. My grandparents generation are much more interested in our country and I think that students and people my age need to begin to find an interest in it as well.
I did not watch Obama on 60 minutes because the Blackhawks were on and im not interested in what he has to say. Instead of wasting his time on 60 minutes maybe he should do something more productive and start getting things done. I believe that anything he says is just words and nothing will actually be performed to help this country. Go Blackhawks
I did not watch the 60 Minute interview this past Sunday. Usually I am not home during that time on Sundays. I think like me a lot of people are out on the weekends due to everybody’s hectic schedule during the week and it could be one of the reasons why there is a drop off in tv from the 1980’s. I also think that a lot of people now-a-days watch and read the news online and are not on tv as much. The current political situation and the people’s discontent can also be a reason why there are not that many people interested in politics, because they feel as if nothing will change.
Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s technology was barely surfacing and wasn’t a commonality in every household like it is today. If you wanted to see something, more than likely you had to tune it at that certain time to see it. Today, although I didn’t watch the interview, I know I could easily go on youtube and watch it there. Another thing is, not many people are interested in politics, especially if it doesn’t benefit them. In researching my paper topic, there’s such a drop in political interest in general with such drastic generation changes.
I think a substantial part of the drop off is the type of world we live in now. What I mean by that is with all of the gadgets that people have to entertain themselves 24/7. From ipods, Xbox, Tivo, internet these all contribute to people not caring or even knowing something is going on. I dont think it has much to do with politics it really hasnt changed.The people have changed would rather entertain themselves rather than learn or listen to our president speak.
I didn’t tune into the 60 Minutes interview simply because I didn’t even know about it, I was at work, and even if I did have the time to watch it, I probably wouldn’t. I believe that there are many attributes as to why there is such a substantial drop in 60 Minutes viewers. To begin with, many people now a days can record whatever TV show they’d like if in case they have something else to do and can’t watch it at the time it airs. Another reason may be as other people have said, with so much technology today, we can simply go on the internet and read all about the interview’s main points rather than sit and watch the whole thing. I’m sure that all throughout Monday every news outlet was speaking about the President’s interview along with Hillary Clinton.
i did not watch the interview because i didn’t know about it. Either ways, i wouldn’t have had the chance to watch the interview because i would have been doing homework or would have been at the gym. Nowadays, people my age aren’t really focusing on current event news. They focus more on finding entertainment and being amused.However, recording something and watching it before going to be bed wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
I did watch The 60 Minutes Interview where Steve Kroft interviewed President Obama and Hilary Clinton. It’s something that I typically would not tune in for, but I happened to be at my Grandparent’s house and watched it with the family and I’m happy that I did. I don’t watch much television at all, and when I do it’s usually reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond” or “Friends”. I’d much rather read a book or work on my own writing. Watching the interview showed me a side of two people who play major roles in the United States government that I have not seen before. Their relationship with each other struck me as a surprise, I did not expect for them to be so informal and friendly with each other. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I was not exactly sure of what position Hilary held aside from her relationship with Bill Clinton. President Obama did nothing except for praise her name and “publicly” thank her for all that she has done for our country. I learned that Hilary is stepping down from her position as Secretary of State, and both her and Obama are sad for her dismissal. I am unsure of what exactly, but from the interview, I learned that the two of them went through hard times where they were not able to work together because they were on opposing sides of the fece. However, one thing that they have both always wanted is the best for our country and they never lost sight of that which is why Hilary accepted Obama’s invitation and joined Congress during an economical crisis as the Secretary of State. It was refreshing to see two individuals in politics overcoming their own differences and “hard feelings” towards one another in order to better the wellbeing of our country. From 1980 to now, plenty of things have changed; forms of technology, means to hear news, interests of citizens, etc. Television was newer and much more intriguing around 1980 whereas now, it is a given in each of our daily lives and the thought of not having access to a television seems absurd. Since the popularity of televisions has blossomed, as have the amount of programs and shows being aired. So many people today, myself guiltily included, would choose watching sitcom reruns or reality shows over 60 Minutes. People could read everything they have to know about the world, politics, and anything else for that matter via the internet at any hour of their convenience with the simple click of a mouse. The United States and the citizens living in it are changing, and I’m not sure that the direction we’re all headed is the politically correct one.
I believe there is a drop off for a number of reasons. The first reason is because our technology. We are now allowed to record shows threw cable and im sure that many people like to do so instead of watch any show when it is actually being aired. The second reason could be because 60 minutes is on at a different time now then it was back then. I am not sure what times it appears on television but most people nowadays have to work alot to support a household so people may work during the show. The last reason that ratings may have picked up at this time is because of a never before seen black president. I beleive people are much more interested in the elections with obama just because it is our first african american president. I personally did not see this episode of 60 min but part of me wishes i saw atleast part of it.
I did not watch the 60 minute show. I think that people don’t really care about what is going on with people that are in charge of our country. Young people now a days don’t really take interest in current events or voting which is a shame because there were so many people that fought for those right for hundreds of years for us to be able to have the freedom we have today. To be honest politics is boring for young people who don’t understand it or have a natural interest in it.
In 1970-1980 the technology concept was totally different that how it is now. These days we have access to any show at any time. The internet is part of our lives and it seems that we cannot live without it. I think that this is one of the main reasons why people did not sit down in front of their tv’s that day. Also, I believe that some people were not interested in it.
I watched the intervie, and I the way that the President and the Hilary Cliton talked was pretty different than what I was expecting. The interview was very friendly, nothing compared to four years ago. Both of them have worked hard for our country, so I think that’s the reason why their relationship became like this over the years. I liked also, how the President complemented great job that Hilary has done.
I would like to see if she will run for President in 2016. I think that it will be very interesting.
People are more on the computers now and on social media sites then sitting down with their families and watching television. People are more preoccupied with other activities in their lives and television isn’t always apart of it. The invention of the d.v.r. to record desired shows allows people greater flexibility in their personal schedules to view their shows when they have the time to. I wasn’t able to watch the 60 minutes with the President but I heard many great things about it due to the internet.
There are many reasons for the drop off in Viewers. I did not watch 60 minutes. Less people watch things like this in general because of the ability to go back later and watch the highlights from it with out spending 60 minutes they can spend 3-4 minutes. Personally I did not watch it because I have learned at this point that Obama or anyone for that matter can talk for days but its when they do something I like to see the news on what they did. Not so much what they said. I do actually admire Barrack Obama’s public speaking ability. But the drop off in TV viewers would definitely have to be mainly because of Technology.
I did not watch 60 minutes, and to be honest I didn’t even know it was on. I feel people now a days do not have time to watch TV or they jusy do not care about current events. I don’t really watch anything live anymore, I just record it and watch it at another time.
I did not watch the interview because the Blackhawks we’re on. I also did not watch the interview because I am not a huge fan of Obama or Clinton. Now I believe the drop off of viewers is simple. Look at 1980. People actually had to watch the news to learn about things. In our high tech world we live in today, all we have to do is pull up information from our smartphones and computers.
Information today is more readily available than it was back when 60 minutes originated. There is no longer much of a need for televised news. That plus the fact that I probably had work and there was a Hawks game on coupled with my general dislike of Obama would have kept me from watching it.
For some odd reason i watch the pro bowl, or football practice, whatever you want to call it. I feel that instead of watching the whole interview in 60 minutes i would just read about it on yahoo the next day. I dont think theres a need to watch these interview on television when i can hear about it the next day.
I did not watch 60 minutes beacuse why sit there and listen and hear them say what they are going to do. I could just turn on the news the next day and hear the most important things they said. However i didn’t even know it was on regardless i would ten times more rather watch the pro bowl.