On TV: Retirement Revolution

By wpcomimportuser1 | March 31, 2008 | +

PBS is airing a two-part documentary starting tonight (what time? check your local listings) called Retirement Revolution, and I’m in it. I’m pretty sure I’m not in tonight’s episode, though it’s possible that just I missed myself while fast-forwarding through the podcast. But that doesn’t make it any less edifying.

The show is a pretty ambitious attempt both to explain how we ended up with our current messy retirement situation and give some personal finance advice on what to do about it. My role is to briefly and not-very-eloquently explain the origins of the 401(k), and then even more briefly warn viewers that, uh, investing can be risky.

Part II, in which I do all this, appears to be airing next Tuesday night in most places, although here in New York they’re showing it Friday night. Or you can just watch it online here (warning: it can take a while to load).

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It is ironic that PBS would be airing a program on the “Retirement Revolution,” as the shrinking audience still paying attention to informative programming such as what PBS provides, or even the Big 3 network newscasts, is the retirement generation.

Sadly, this is why network news is dying — as Gen-Xers and even more so Gen-Yers — are getting their information almost solely from their PCs, during the day at work, or from their mobile devices.

It’s a new day in the world of media. Where it goes next, nobody really knows.
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I am getting requests from fans of your dead tree columns asking where they can find this program on their local PBS station. You can go to http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=46,1 and look up the program. Unfortunately PBS stations in the SF Bay Area are not carrying it in the next two weeks.

And I did look at the video on my computer and you were not in evidence in Part I. I hope Part II is more lively.