Persian Gulf Crisis Boosts Ratings of Sunday News Shows
The Middle East crisis has attracted television news viewers in record numbers. Not only are more people watching, but they are tuning into relatively obscure programs such as “Face the Nation.”
“60 Minutes” was the most watched show on prime-time television for the second consecutive week, according to figures released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co.
Separate research by Nielsen on six Sunday news and information programs showed that viewership had increased by 27.7% since Iraq’s Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait.
The latter ratings represented viewers of “Face the Nation” and “Sunday Morning” on CBS; “This Week With David Brinkley” and “Business World” on ABC, and “Meet the Press” and “Sunday Today” on NBC. All those shows dealt in some way with the Persian Gulf crisis.
Sunday evening’s “60 Minutes” broadcast featured a Dan Rather interview with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a segment on chemical warfare and a report from the Soviet Union by Morley Safer.
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