19. Televised news magazines created a new market
Although many consider the CBS news magazine program 60 Minutes to be the father of the format, similar programs existed during television’s infancy. In fact news magazine style programs were some of the most popular on the air with the networks’ prime time lineups until the explosion of the game shows in the 1950s. The news magazines allowed professional journalists to investigate and prepare reports on both major issues and lesser known problems and stories for national broadcast. As more and more of the professionally trained print journalists completed their careers and retired the line of demarcation between journalism and entertainment became blurred on many such shows.
Tabloid journalism appeared on television as well, with programs such as Hard Copy, Inside Edition, and A Current Affair. As with their supermarket tabloid counterparts, such programs focused on sensationalism and innuendo, presenting stories which featured celebrities and entertainment news, and often reported on missing persons and supposed investigative links. By the end of the twentieth century, talk shows claiming links to journalism were increasingly popular in the United States (and around the world). Also similarly to their print tabloid counterparts, some of the programs were frequently the targets of lawsuits alleging defamation of character by irate celebrities.