Diane Sawyer's Appalachian Poverty Special Rates Huge For ABC

Diane Sawyer's special report for "20/20" on Appalachian child poverty dominated the 10PM hour Friday night, delivering the newsmagazine's largest audience since 2004 and lifting ABC to its highest Friday rating since November 2007.

"20/20" drew an average of 10.9 million viewers Friday night, its biggest audience since September 24, 2004, when Barbara Walters scored the first post-prison interview with teacher/child rapist Mary Kay Letourneau. That was enough to win the top spot on Friday night, with nearly 2 million viewers more than its nearest 10PM competitor, CBS' "Num3rs" (9.0 million), and about 600,000 more viewers than CBS' "Ghost Whisperer," which won the 8PM hour and came in second place.

"20/20" won Friday night across all key adult demos as well.

Comments

[SKauffman]

I Liked the documentary. The area is rich in family pride. Deep old culture. Ever spent a weekend in the hills? I can assure you that you will not need your I-Pod or PSP and the sort. They know how to entertain and show you a great visit. These folks would stop what they were doing to help anybody. My feeling, they are far richer than most inner city kids. I didn't like the stereotype issues that we all know that goes on everywhere. Illegal drugs and sex that some people resort to doing is never right wherever the area your living. Having any extra money, It would be a child here in these mountains that I would help instead of overseas. However, I feel ABC did a great injustice. Putting sub-titles in was stupid. You could understand them clearly. What ABC really needs is sub-titles for those "Rapper" groups. But then you would need to hire somebody full-time 24/7 ! All kidding aside it was a injustice. And I'm sure they felt it. ....I hope a follow up is coming soon. Life is best lived in the Mountains!!!!

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...patronizing the working poor is always
profitable for large corporations.
She should be ashamed of herself.
We should be shamed by a coal industry
that perpetuates generational / regional poverty.

[zepfan81]

When we discuss poverty we never seem to address the the self-defeating cultural attitudes of the people in poverty. We always blame "the system" alone.

[othorp]

I could not take my eyes off the Sawyer special. It sickened me to watch another generation of children mimic their parents with the belief that God would send someone to rescue them and so they continue to wait while raising another generation while they sing the hymns.

Only one young man managed to evolve & liberate himself from his neighborhood of incest, drugs & domestic violence only to be let down by our educational system that had no room to reward his ambitions.

Appalachian people are merely isolated , as there are many Americans spread out across 50 States who are starving, addicted and abused left to rely on their Ministers, Government and Corporate leaders to 'show them the way' lest they begin to think for themselves.

[SKauffman]

You need to check other sources. I believe your talking about the high school kid that slept in his truck. I read from a reply on another news comment site that this kid had so many chances. He fails to follow rules in other people's homes. Even his football coach took him in but didn't want to listen. Newsvine.com reply line. I understand three colleges had contacted him for playing for them. I like to find out what they dig up. Poor or wealthy you some how dig your own hole to climb out of........­.........T­ake care

[militarymomforobama]

Mitch McConnell--what a guy!

[edm1017]

Many journalists go for shock value, and Ms. Sawyer is no different. This "story" dwells among others in the longtime shameless exploitation of Mountain Poverty under the guise of humbled respect and sadness for how some--not all--people in these areas live. I'm amazed at the consistent biased reporting of these stories. I'd ask that journalists show the healthy, prosperous, water-consuming, cable-watching, college educated people in Kentucky, but then Kentuckians would be just like everyone else; we wouldn't get to see these specials and documentaries pop up when the Diane Sawyers of the world become bored of reporting about politics and prostitutes. Unfortunately, the impoverished people of appalachia are the only group of beings left with no one to stand up against their exploitation and/or ridicule. I hoped Ms. Sawyer's piece would be an exception. It wasn't.

[mcliberty]

I am from Eastern Kentucky/Western West VA and now live in central Ohio. There is a stark difference in the way people live driving from Ohio to Eastern KY. My sister and I are exceptions to the rule because she has a Master's Degree and I am working on my Master's. She stayed down there and I moved to Ohio. Our ways of life differ dramatically. I have a two-bed farm house, she has a trailer. She has a Master's and makes $8.00 an hour. Her sewage runs directly into the creek, while I have have an actual sewage system. Every week, multiple people die in our hometown from prescription drug abuse. The old grocery store on the main street is now a methadone clinic. When she was looking at colleges, her counselor told her not to even bother applying out of state, because she would never be accepted b/c of her accent. Like I said, we are lucky. We know many people down there that have it much worse, the majority of which are in their 20's and living off social security and food stamps.

[Retrofuturistic]

I once worked in Project Head Start in Appalachia, was given a list, and had to recruit my own preschool class, which meant that I visited all the homes. This was in the 60's, at the beginning of the War on Poverty. People lived with no heat, in sod houses, some in trailers with garbage thrown underneath, and would get their water from a pipe in the hillside.

I believe that religion and other cultural restrictions held the people back. For instance, when the children were in preschool, we offered classes and various kinds of job training for the mothers. But they all seemed to be "controlled" by some big uneducated lout who felt threatened by the idea of his wife "getting ahead", so many times the men would keep the women away from things that could have allowed them to advance.

I think that misogyny is one of the things we have to overcome in our efforts to alleviate poverty.

[JC1c1]

cont.,,,,,,,,,,,
Just look at this way. Travel to the backroads of your state, where it takes 2 hours to get there, you might be in for a shock! Does it need to be fixed? Ofcourse! But this doesnt help. Most likely the people around America will watch and say oh how sad, or they deserve it. But in the end, nothing will change.


The only thing Sawyer made clear is that the forgotten isnt a race issue, but a class issue. Oh by the way to the people wanting to know why they didnt have fruits and veggies. Well the stores dont carry them, and terrain isnt the best for gardening.

I didnt vote for McConnel, and to me he has done nothing but profit off of my state for 20 years, while doing nothing. The reason people vote for him, is bc the know the name. Plenty of America know nothing about politics. So they vote for the name they know, or the party they identify with (well the party they did when they first registered), not what it is now.

[JC1c1]

I am from Kentucky, I have lived here my whole life. Granted I am from Central Kentucky, not Eastern Kentucky, but Sawyer found the worst of the worst. THAT IS NOT KENTUCKY!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!! That is apart of Kentucky, a very, very small part. She failed to show people the great things we have here, and there are many great things. Yes I know that wasnt what her story was about, it was about those poor dumb hicks. To show the good would have had the shock value effect. ButInstead of just telling about the poor here, she had to hit on every generalization that Kentuckians have had to deal with their whole lives. We are not dumb, dont let the accent fool you. Maybe you thought Sawyer did a good job, but most Kentuckians dont feel that way. Many feel betrayed that she would put all those old sterotypes in there, that she would fail to tell the rest of the country, that these people were the exception to the rule, bc she is from here. She knows better! She knows how it is to tell someone from another state where you are from, and get the same questions over and over. No doubt many of you here wont get what I am saying, and think that I dont know what I am talking about. So before you judge, come down here, take a look around.

[Violeta]

So... if you ARE from Kentucky, why do you separate yourself based on geographic location from "those poor dumb hicks." Why aren't you angry that while there IS so much opulence in your state, and while you are proud to show off "the good parts," other people in your state live like this!

When you say "but look at the good parts!" you are in essence turning a blind (and very pejorative) eye on the other people in your state who are poor, yes, but are they really dumb hicks? I am not sure of exactly all the factors that come together to keep people living, generation after generation, in such conditions, but surely it's not because they are all dumb hicks! There has to be more to it than that, and you should be ashamed of yourself for labeling them and being judgmental when you should be sympathetic and angry that this is going on. How about extend a hand or stand up for better education, more social support, better job training, and more economic opportunities being brought into those areas so that they too can have the opportunities necessary for overcoming the effects of poverty which perpetuate this problem.

[Phylmom]

Violeta -- where do you live? How do you explain the poverty there? What are you doing for poor people where you live? Are you extending a hand for better education or job training? Just asking.

[Alliebeth]

I'm from Arkansas. Trust me, I know where you are coming from. I went to a prestigious private university up north and often got the "You went to a public school? In...ARKANSAS?!" line, followed by a pitying look.

[mz W]

Uh, LOOK-up a MAP!
South-East KY is about 1/4 th of KY! Basically everything East of I-75 & South of I-64.

We are 'going to HELL in a hand-basket',
but the basketmakers are out of work, so,
we are left, just 'going to HELL',
in My Beloved APPALACHIA...

Commonsense NOT Common...

[LiberalBuzz]

60 Minutes (I think) did something similar several years ago and it was heartbreaking then and only worse now.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how we have failed our poor, especially the children, so miserably when we send tens of billions to millionaire bankers and can't seem to find a damned dime for the extremely poor.

[yours truly]

I feel horrible for those families, mostly the children. What surprised me as I watched the show was how the parents of these children had money to buy "mountain dew", "pepsi", cigarettes and beer, yet complained they had no milk or vegetables to feed their children. I'm not sure what it costs where you live but where I live a gallon of milk is about the same as a twelve pack of mountain dew, or pack of cigarettes. A can of generic vegetables cost less then a dollar, grow a garden seeds are cheap. I can not feel sorry for people that make poor choices but I can feel sorry for the children that have to live with the poor choices their parents make. Hopefully this cycle will end!

[EndangeredJackalope]

Mountain Dew doesn't have a shelf life. For a local grocery/general store that has less customers and no deli or bakery to funnel late perishable foods into, carrying that stuff can be riskier for the retailer. Transport of that stuff is also more expensive b/c it has to be shipped in weekly (and of course its a more remote area.)

Vegetables/fruits.. they may not have the land or appropriate terrain to grow on (or at least the knowledge to terrace farm.) I bet they do do vegetables, but that's not lettuce, carrots, spinach, broccoli, etc. Plus canned veggies taste and cook like garbage and less nutritious.

The cigarettes and beer.. yeah, of course.

A lot of comments on here from people with decades past experience helping the Appalachian poor all return to themes of religion and mysogeny (or a combination of the two) keeping people from helping each other and themselves. It seems like a pretty valid criticism.

[HoneyRyder]

toothlessness? lol

[mz W]

About KY;
>PRIVATE PRISONS hold NON-VIOLENT CRIMINALS, mainly for 'DRUGS', which should be treated as MEDICAL, NOT CRIMINAL. Ky will INCARCERATE before they EDUCATE!

[mz W]

About KY:
>>>RELIGION!
Keeping the masses IGNORANT!
Religious 'non-profits' are pathetic, offering minimal help, while trying to 'convert' the helpless.
>FAMILY PLANNING, BIRTH CONTROL & SEX-ED, do NOT get fully funded/promoted due to churches & the 'religious right'.

[mz W]

About KY:
>>>"JUSTICE should be BLIND, NOT DEAF & DUMB".
>Child-support ENFORCEMENT is ONLY SOCIAL-SERVICE PROGRAM with DIRECT FINANCIAL INCENTIVES to PUSH CASES! They JAIL PARENTS WHO CAN NOT PAYBACK the State for WELFARE===A FEDERAL,BL­OCK-GRANT!
>CSE ABUSES it's ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS with FULL, LEGAL CONSEQUENCES.
NO REMEDY ONCE CASE OPENED: BRADLEY Amendment 42 U.S.C.?666­(a)(9)(c).
This is DEBTOR'S PRISON!

[1differentdrummer]

Social Services is an industry across the country, mean and cruel. How many kids have to die while SS chases cases for unworthy reasons?

[mz W]

I tried to post all at once, but it was NEVER posted, so, let's see what aspect of my comment the moderators have issue with...
Commonsense NOT Common in Commonwealth...

[mz W]

Thank you, moderator, for posting MOST of my comment...

[mz W]

About KY:
>>>COAL!
RUINING OUR ENVIRONMENT & LIVES so ALL have CHEAP ELECTRIC!
MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL KILLS!
(INVESTIGATE the WATER TABLES!)
CLEAN COAL = OXYMORON!
(...like putting perfume on a T u R d.)

[totalliberal]

Although she is not up to Edward R. Murrow, she did a veryt good job.

Murrow's closing words:

It has nothing to do with Johannesburg or Cape Town. It is not Nyasaland or Nigeria. This is Florida. These are citizens of the United States, 1960. This is a shape-up for migrant workers. The hawkers are chanting the going piece rate at the various fields. This is the way the humans who harvest the food for the best-fed people in the world get hired. One farmer looked at this and said, "We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them."

[springsm]

One of the remarks under the ABC blog was that people wondered why Mitch McConnell did not do more for Eastern KY. That is a good question, Senator McConnell is greedy with the pork for his state. Where does it go? Actually the children need to somehow get education so that they do not grow up in such squalor or at least see another way. Mining can not always fulfill the bill. These kids seemed to take their place in life as a given in many aspects. I would think that they might be very fearful of going out into another more people friendly area. There is abit of a catch 22 in this area. Neverthele­ss...child­ren in this country should not live like this or see what they do. Years of neglect will take years of recovery.