Tom Brokaw's Boomer Report

[Beverly Mahone]

I am assuming this is not going to be a popular post with some of you but I am offering my opinion from my persepctive as a baby boomer.

On Thursday night, Tom Brokaw did a report called BOOMERS on CNBC. It was of great interest to me because I was born in 1957---which means I am a part of the baby boomer generation.

Part of Brokaw's report was done at the University of Michigan. I'm not sure why. If I had been doing that report I would've gone back to Kent State University because that is where four young people (who would be baby boomers today)were gunned down by the police while protesting agains the Vietnam War. But that's just me.

Much attention is being paid to baby boomers these days as the first wave of us moves towards retirement and social security. Brokaw attempted to give us a 50 year look at the boomers in a two-hour period.

Yes, we were the first generation to grow up with television; many of us lived through the civil rights era and the Vietnam War. But the “real” image of a baby boomer is what I question. Brokaw failed to show the true diversity of us as a group. We are not all white kids who grew up in the suburbs watching the Mickey Mouse Club. He referred to us as the most diverse generation but the fact of the matter is some of us actually grew up in a separate and unequal society and according to a Duke University study, diversity has not led to equality. Brokaw didn't talk about that. Instead, he showed us how one black man in America was living a life he never dreamed of. The fact of the matter is many blacks in the boomer generation are no better off relative to whites than their parents and grandparents. Many older southern baby boomers can still tell you stories about the Jim Crow laws and the impact it had on their lives.

We have also been called the wealthiest generation but despite what some would have you believe, we are not all living in the land of milk and honey. Some of us may have plenty of disposable income but, according to the Duke Study, quite a few of us are struggling financially.

One thing I will agree with in the report is a comment made by author J. Walker Smith. He said baby boomers became more focused on self and a promise of economic prosperity as they grew up. They became more focused on "things", and tried to live beyond their means. Greed and ego were also the order of our generation.

Maybe that explains some of the financial mess we're in. You think?

[Marcia Barhydt]

Fran - exactly! Feminism marked a major shift for all boomers and to have it so minimized on this worthy documentary speaks poorly of those associated with its content. I'm so glad to hear someone else voice an opinion similar to mine Fran!

[Beverly Mahone]

I'm glad to see the comments generated by my post. Since I still have connections to NBC (used to work there), I will forward this link so they can see what all of you had to say.

[Anne Holmes]

I was very disappointed in Brokaw's reporting, Bev.

To begin with, I agree that starting and ending at the University of Michigan made no sense to me. Kent State, or Berkeley or the University of Wisconsin-Madison would have made more sense. (I grew up in Madison, and not only was the anti-war movement very strong there, but we also had the bombing of the Army Math Research Center, in which people were killed.)

I also thought the coverage on civil rights and women's rights was downplayed WAAAY too much.

And I think Boomers have been among the demographic hardest hit by the recession. We are not all living in McMansions, and many of us will have to give up on the concept of retirement.

But what I have found most interesting since the airing of this show has been the massive amounts of negative comments directed towards Boomers as a whole.

Boomers are too diverse a topic to be covered in two hours, and Brokaw should have known that.

[Fran Civile]

I agree with Beverly on many things she noticed about Tom Brokaw's report. I announced the show's broadcast on my blog and I will post a link to these very pertinent comments. To me the most glaring one was that not more was said about feminism... I am constantly noticing how everything in our society has been improved by the inclusion of women's influence in the areas of politics, business, academics... any area you can think of!

I believe Tom Brokaw was preparing this special more than a year ago, before the terrible losses boomers have
suffered in this last recession and I agree that 2 hours was probably too short to cover everything!

[Roger Chiocchi]

I was dissappointed as well, but for other reasons. As a generation, our institutions have failed us, just witness the devestation thrust our our generation by the economic meltdown. Do you know what the average 401K value is for a boomer near retirement? Only $68K. That and social security is most all have to live on. I wrote a book about this phenomenon and you can check it out at www.babyboomerbust.net

[Marcia Barhydt]

Exactly Beverly! It's the fact that Brokaw is so hugely respected that makes all of the omissions, especially the omission of feminism, so much more offensive! Yes, there were time restraints, but come on Tom! Priorities. Well, maybe that's the whole point of this discussion, right?

I simply can't fathom though how mainstream TV can omit such a pivotal part of our history or such a large part of our population.

Maybe it's up to groups and websites like Boomer Diva Nation?

[Beverly Mahone]

You're right Marcia. I don't even recall a mention of feminism but if it was at the end of the show I didn't see it because I turned away. I know it's easy for me to sit back and play Monday morning quarterback but if a respected journalist like Tom Brokaw is going to take on a project like that, he should've at least demanded a two to three part series to tell a more complete story. He has that kind of power even though he's not longer with NBC.

Also, there's a very important report that he didn't mention. And that's the report involving the state of the financial state of baby boomer woman. It's dismal and points back to baby boomer men as partly to blame.

[Marcia Barhydt]

I'm with you Beverly in your keen observations about Brokaw's show!

But I noticed one other sector that was also poorly represented - the feminist movement. Where was that in those 2 hours? I heard a very short 2 minute reference to feminism near the end of the show and that was it!!

The feminist movement affected so many changes for us boomers and those changes are still affecting us today. It opened the doors of opportunity for so many women and gave us a voice for the first time in history. It gave us freedoms that our mothers had never dreamed of. It gave us choices.

I have to wonder though, if Mr. Brokaw is still a member of 'the old boys club'? Clearly his documentary was.

[Dr. Carlos M. Gonzalez]

Glad to hear I did not miss much. Let us all move forward and make this a great day and an even better tomorrow.

[Monica Michelena]

Personally, I feel bad that it is my generation that had contributed to the greed of corporate America, and all that goes with it.