MATURE AUDIENCE TV watchers are growing
older together: The median viewer age for
five networks is now 5 1, up from 44 in 2000.
Age 44
in 2000
Age 51 in
2010
Tribesman
Jimmy
Johnson:
Playing for
Survival
Legendary football coach
Jimmy Johnson, 67, led the
Dallas Cowboys to two Super
Bowl victories. But the Fox
NFL commentator recently
faced his most daunting challenge as the oldest player on
this year’s Survivor: Nicaragua.
Q: Why put yourself through
that? I wanted the adventure.
It goes back to when I was a
kid dreaming of living with the
animals on the Amazon.
Q: Any lessons learned?
ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT DI IESO; PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP RIGHT: JUN SATO/WIREIMAGE; GEORGE
PIMEN TEL/FILMMAGIC; MON T Y BRIN TON/CBS; MICHAEL TUREK; TV-WATCHERS SOURCE: MAGNAGLOBAL
We take so much for granted
that we’ve gotten soft. I
thought football practice in the
hot sun was tough—but at least
we had plenty of food. In
Nicaragua we had to split two
cups of rice between 10 people.
Q: Did your friends try to talk
you out of it? Most everybody
told me I was nuts. My buddy
Terry Bradshaw joked that I’d
have to eat bugs. Let’s just say
that I didn’t eat anything that I
ever want to eat again. —J. R.
A Super Man
Geoffrey Canada:
Fixing Schools
Fiery education activist Geoffrey Canada,
through his Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ),
reduced the achievement gap between white
New York City students and his charter school’s
mostly black students. Now Canada, 58, finds
himself in the unlikely role of movie star in
Waiting for “Superman,” a documentary (out in
September, along with a book by the same title)
about the U.S. public-education system.
“An answer doesn’t come from the movie,”
he says, “ but it can make average Americans
realize we need to do something.” By going
to waitingforsuperman.com, viewers can see
what individual classrooms across the country
need—such as books and microscopes—and
contribute directly.
The HCZ program—targeted for replication
in 20 cities—follows kids from birth to college
and includes parenting workshops, all-day pre-
kindergarten, and an array of social services.
“We must accept no excuses and demand our
children be highly educated,” declares Canada.
Now that’s a star-making agenda. —Jeffrey Ressner
Media
THE METER
AWESOME
Julia Roberts
The actress, 43,
plans—for now—
to age gracefully
without Botox. “It’s
unfortunate that
we live in such a
panicked, dysmor-
phic society where
women don’t give
themselves a chance
to see what they’ll
look like as older per-
sons,” she told Elle.
AGEIST
Woody Allen
The famed director
is no longer playing
romantic parts—or
casting actors his
own age ( 74) in
them. “Nobody
wants to see a guy
who’s 74 hitting on a
woman of any age,”
he commented to a
British newspaper.
TV FOR GROWNUPS
From Selleck to Smits—see which big stars have the
coolest fall shows. Go to aarp.org/falltvpreview.
