At one time CBS did simply join "60 Minutes" in progress if a
football game lasted past 7 PM (ET), but when they found out
how much money "60 Minutes" made for the network they instituted
the policy of airing it in its entirety, backing the rest of the schedule
up.
There were times when I think Andy was on-target; for instance, after
the Oklahoma City bombing when he said, "I'd like to kill the b******s."
I can also understand his desire for privacy when dining out (I'm not even
a celebrity and I don't like people coming up and talking to me when I'm
eating) or trying to watch a ballgame. But I'm still angry about being lumped
in with what he called the "idiots" who wrote him; I once e-mailed him a
response to a piece he did about dogs. IIRC, his dog (some fancy breed) had died and he couldn't
find another one like it, so I suggested he get a plain old mutt; they'll always
be loyal to you. While I didn't expect him to answer me, I'd like to point out
for the record that I have a Ph.D., am a Phi Beta Kappa, and have let my membership
in Mensa lapse. And I believe that "60 Minutes" attracts a better-educated audience
than the overwhelming majority of passes for primetime commercial broadcast television.
If he had been more specific about the kind of letters he was talking about, such as
Ed Sullivan once did when he talked about people who find fifteen seconds of a show
objectionable and write long letters about those fifteen seconds, maybe--maybe--I'd
have a different attitude. But I don't, and it will sour me on Andy Rooney for a long
time.
football game lasted past 7 PM (ET), but when they found out
how much money "60 Minutes" made for the network they instituted
the policy of airing it in its entirety, backing the rest of the schedule
up.
There were times when I think Andy was on-target; for instance, after
the Oklahoma City bombing when he said, "I'd like to kill the b******s."
I can also understand his desire for privacy when dining out (I'm not even
a celebrity and I don't like people coming up and talking to me when I'm
eating) or trying to watch a ballgame. But I'm still angry about being lumped
in with what he called the "idiots" who wrote him; I once e-mailed him a
response to a piece he did about dogs. IIRC, his dog (some fancy breed) had died and he couldn't
find another one like it, so I suggested he get a plain old mutt; they'll always
be loyal to you. While I didn't expect him to answer me, I'd like to point out
for the record that I have a Ph.D., am a Phi Beta Kappa, and have let my membership
in Mensa lapse. And I believe that "60 Minutes" attracts a better-educated audience
than the overwhelming majority of passes for primetime commercial broadcast television.
If he had been more specific about the kind of letters he was talking about, such as
Ed Sullivan once did when he talked about people who find fifteen seconds of a show
objectionable and write long letters about those fifteen seconds, maybe--maybe--I'd
have a different attitude. But I don't, and it will sour me on Andy Rooney for a long
time.
