60 Minutes Fans Have Some Brutal Opinions On The Australian Version

There are not all that many shows that can boast anywhere near as long and storied history as "60 Minutes." Other media institutions rise and fall, the CBS news show has been going strong since its debut in 1968. At its most alluring, "60 Minutes" has had fans believing in aliens, and can even leave audiences in tears. Long-running "60 Minutes" commentator Andrew Rooney alone was a fixture from 1969 to 2011, with over 1,000 episodes of the show to his name. 

With a prestige like that, it's no wonder that assorted spin-offs and localized versions of "60 Minutes" have popped up over the years. Yet, because the original show's had decades to establish its cultural reputation, it can cast a long shadow over anything else bearing the name. Recently, some fans of the original "60 Minutes" have expressed pretty brutal opinions about the Australian version of the show. Let's take a look at what they're saying.

Australia's "60 Minutes" might not be quite as venerable as its U.S. counterpart, but it's hardly a spring chicken. The Australian show runs on Nine Network, and has been going on since 1979. However, its four-decade prestige isn't enough to stop certain "60 Minutes" aficionados from berating it. In a Reddit discussion, several viewers pointed out that the show seems to be somewhat more tabloid-y and sensational than the U.S. version.

The conversation was started by redditor u/Hamarjadid, who saw some clips about the Australian show and wanted to find out whether their impression was correct. "Non Aussie here – Is it me or is the Aussie version infinitely trashier and more sensationalist? Just by judging from their YouTube videos," they wrote. 

The replies to this query were almost unanimous. "Yeah it's basically a tabloid show. It used to be more journalistic in the 80s but it's on commercial tv and they care more about what sells than journalistic integrity," u/kissthebear wrote. Redditor u/triceratopsAU agreed that the Australian show is fond of tabloid topics, though they noted that they find the stuffier U.S. version equally unalluring.

There are critics on other platforms, as well. "I like how 60 Minutes Australia proudly advertises itself as pure tabloid trash made by and for dummies. No pretenses of serious journalism here, just empty calories. So many great details here. It's like the "Idiocracy" version of the original 60 Minutes," @Joe_A_Blevins tweeted about the program, with users like @LisaCroft, @ColemanPhillipa and @WaikatoOz all comparing the current incarnation of the show to tabloid media. 

Though Australia's "60 Minutes" has been on air for quite a while, it does appear that several viewers think its quality is hardly comparable to the U.S. version.