Securing the middle ground: Reporter formulas in<i>60 minutes</i>

Abstract

Amid situation comedies, cop shows, and prime time “soaps,” CBS’ 60 Minutes became a hit during the mid‐1970s. Critics since have tried to account for the meaning of a popular news show. In great part, the meanings of 60 Minutes reside in its story formulas. Reporters perform as detectives, analysts, and tourists in order to mediate narrative tension and construct a mythology for Middle America. What 60 Minutes offers us from week to week is a cultural center, a sense of place. Embedded in its news is the power of metaphor and formula to both transform and deform experience, to secure a middle ground for audiences, and to build unified meanings in and for a pluralistic culture.