Whenever someone asks what my favorite TV show is, I think about my honest answer and immediately feel old.
That's because my favorite TV show is "60 Minutes."
For me, this Sunday evening stalwart is the last chance to relax before another week of work. (Plus, my wife and I usually watch it while wolfin' down homemade pasta and meatballs.)
However, after a few shows into their 39th season, "60 Minutes" has, for the first time, started to rub me the wrong way. And the reason has to do with indirect schilling for their sister companies' books.
For example, a few weeks ago, Bob Woodward was interviewed by Mike Wallace (didn't he retire?) to promote his new book, State of Denial. It's Woodward's third book examining the current Bush administration and the war against terrorism.
The above-mentioned reasons didn't annoy me, but they came close. I felt "60 Minutes" could've chosen a more original feature than reaching back into the Woodward Bin. But then the fact that Woodward's book is published by Simon & Schuster sent me over the edge of my couch.
You see, Simon & Schuster is owned by CBS. Sure, Mike Wallace offered up the disclaimer, but I just think it's poor form to pimp a sister company's book while showing the horribly unimaginative "book rollin' hot off the presses" shot.
The next Sunday, I was sucked back in and ready for another episode of my favorite program. And then it happened again.
David Kuo is an evangelical Christian and card-carrying member of the religious right, who got a job in the White House in the president’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. And then he soured on the administration and wrote a tell-all book, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction, about his experiences.
This feature, as you probably guessed, didn't sit well with me. So you could imagine my level of disgust when Leslie Stahl revealed the Free Press--also owned by CBS. And just to pour salt on my proverbial wounds, they showed a video clip of Kuo's book rollin' hot off the presses.
Amazingly, I didn't upchuck my Italian dinner.
It's safe to say that I expected more of "60 Minutes." For nearly four decades, "60 Minutes" has been the ultimate TV news show asking the hard questions while never flinching.
Now, it seems, they're just looking to make an extra book.
I mean, buck.
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