CBS News Sunday Morning - A Respite & Refuge
Sunday is a day of lessened expectations and needs. It's a day to kick back, shut down and decompress. It's as if time slows down. Sleeping in, leisurely reading a paper, savoring a cup of coffee or enjoying a hearty breakfast fill the day rather than to do lists, texts and social media. You can breathe again, your blood pressure lessens and you're at peace. It is after all a day of rest. Simple pleasures rule our consciousness as we try to shut out the onslaught of media that we're exposed to day in and day out.
Try as you might, you can never turn off media - it is who we are and what we do. If by habit or instinct, you inevitably reach for the remote. We are after all an information society and what day it is has no significance or bearing on that irrefutable fact.
I find it remarkable and heartening on Sunday mornings to seek out CBS News Sunday Morning as appointment TV. Yes, the very same program that started back in 1979. It doesn't get near the credit it deserves in broadcasting history. Thirty two years and still stronger than ever needs to count for something in today's fragmented television landscape. It's comforting to know that you can count on it - week in and week out.
Unlike, 60 Minutes which is rapidly becoming another "entertainment" show with political agendas thrown in , CBS News Sunday Morning sticks to its time tested and proven tradition of the opening "Abblasen" trumpet theme and various sun images that reflect the moods and ideas expressed in that day's program. The stories are long form and span architecture, painting, ballet, music, books and theatre. It has the perfect tone and tenor for a Sunday morning - the pace is considerably quieter and more relaxed.
Charles Osgood, a person who can really carry off wearing a bowtie, orchestrates the program brilliantly by introducing each story with a short monologue. Dubbed CBS News' poet-in-residence, Osgood is the perfect antidote for today's hectic world. He doesn't shout, lecture and or subject himself to hype. He chooses to let the stories speak for themselves.
In today's always on, 140 word twitter world, it is refreshing to dive deeper into a story and learn something of value. CBS News Sunday Morning provides both content and context which is missing in many mediums today. They are able to straddle the fine line of being both informative and entertaining. They talk about interesting topics and interview interesting people.
The brand endures. It is continually one of the highest if not the highest rating Sunday morning programs - even after all these years!! It is the TV version of the Sunday paper, very relaxed and informative, which is exactly what I'm looking for on winter Sunday mornings. The moment of nature segment that closes the program is a perfect way to put an exclamation point on an hour and half of stimulating our mental senses. It leaves you with a sense that things are right about the world we live in, nature being one of them. If you don't watch, it is well worth the time investment. It's not fast and it's not loud. It's the perfect brand companion to a Sunday morning!
Keywords: CBS News Sunday Morning; Charles Osgood; Sunday Morning Television
I never realized that the images of the sun reflect the mood of the program. I will make sure to look for that going forward. Thank you for this sharing this tidbit.
Charles Osgood’s voice is mesmerizing. It is so soothing to listen to on a Sunday morning. I love it and its obvious many others do too as it is not only a long running program it is the highest rated on Sunday morning with its audience near double its competition.
Why people think Ted Williams voice is so great when we are blessed with Charles Osgood is beyond my comprehension!
As a long time fan of Sunday Morning, I couldn't agree with you more. Back in the days of Charles Kuralt Sunday morning grabbed me as aplace to "let go" and relax with thoughtfulness, charm, passion, inspiration and all those visual magazine feature qualities that make for terrific intelectual and emotional stimulation. In the history of the medium, virtually nobody had the courage to close shows with a minute of silence and appreciation for our world. It is moving, humbling and thought provoking. Kudos to you for paying it tribute.
It's a shame that all the great news voices that came out of radio are disappearing. Osgood is the last of a line that included Murrow, Cronkite, Severeid, Kuralt, Swayze (John Cameron, not Patrick). Those voices made us want to listen, so that the words mattered as much as the pictures, and we learned and understood more. I have to learn to tie a bowtie.