Sunday Mornings always have an ethereal quality about them – not necessarily religious, but spiritual. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you are sitting in a church, sitting down to brunch, sitting in bed or sitting in front of your TV – there is an uncanny sense of time slowing down, encouraging us to stop and reflect on the week that’s passed and ready ourselves for the week that’s coming.
And that’s where CBS News Sunday Morning comes in. It starts with the haunting one-trumpet theme song, ushering in 90 minutes of escape from the overwhelming everyday news. Its hosts are at once professional and quirky, each enjoying this job for double-digit years at a time, never in a hurry to get to the next story, but rather delighting in serving up just enough teasers to whet their own and their viewers’ appetites.
Then there are the ‘reporters’ and contributors. Reporters written in single quotes because they seem to be more like guides in this landscape of interesting, inspiring stories than they are hardcore news people. And each Contributor brings their own special brand of wit – to the point that when you hear their voices you pretty much know the kind of piece it will be.
Everything on Sunday Morning moves at about half the speed of other news programs – and that’s the beauty of it! A story takes as long as it takes to tell, not as long as the too-short slot allotted by too many producers. There’s often nothing pressing or earth-shattering about the topic, yet we sit riveted to hear the final words that sum it all up for us. And we always learn something new – even if it’s a subject that we’re familiar with, there will be a point of view or human interest angle that we’ve never considered. Invariably we leave both educated and inspired.
So here’s what I’ve learned from CBS Sunday Morning:
~ Sundays are precious – slow down and enjoy them.
~ Truly understanding things and people takes time – give them what they deserve.
~ There is so much more good and so much more inspiration in the world than we are led to believe these days – go out and find it. Or watch it on CBS Sunday Morning.