Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and executive producer on 60 Minutes, said there isn't enough investigative reporting on television these days. Fager was keynoting at RTDNA's Excellence in Journalism convention in New Orleans Sept. 26.
"I think a lot of people shy away from it because it's expensive and it's difficult and it takes a lot of time," he told a room full of news professionals. "We succeed at 60 Minutes by doing it and by caring about it and by working hard to make it as interesting as we can, because there is a place for it and I think there's a hunger for it out there."
Fager said 60 Minutes would beef up its coverage of the fighting in Afghanistan, and touted social media's increasing role in news distribution. "I believe so strongly in Facebook and Twitter and the idea that you can go online and in seconds share one of our stories with your friends," he said.
While some fall shows with major ratings expectations have been coming up a bit short this season, Fager suggested 60 Minutes' viewership consistency year after year indicated that broadcast television remains mighty powerful. "The numbers contradict what I've heard a lot of smart news people say about the state of television," said Fager.
