|
|
Article: DR. KEVORKIAN ON THE AIR: CBS and "60 Minutes" Dropped the Ball.
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- May 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Was showing an assisted suicide an attempt to inform the public about a controversial issue or a cynical attempt to boost ratings during a TV sweeps period?
Thirteen minutes and 36 seconds was the amount of time that television's preeminent news magazine, "60 Minutes," devoted to the complex issue of euthanasia. On Nov. 22, 1998, correspondent Mike Wallace interviewed euthanasia advocate Jack Kevorkian in a widely heralded show and, more significant, showed a tape of Kevorkian's injecting potassium chloride into Thomas Youk, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Supreme Court earlier had denied talk show host Phil ...