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60 Minutes: August 13

60 Minutes profiles Laurie Oakes plus stories on Fleetwood Mac, social media power and Down Syndrome.

Tomorrow 60 Minutes profiles Nine’s own Laurie Oakes plus stories on Fleetwood Mac, social media power and moral questions around Down Syndrome.

Under the Influence
If you think Facebook and Instagram are only about keeping in touch with family and friends, or being wooed and wowed by cute animal pictures, then it’s time to think again. The two giants of social media are vehicles to potentially make bucketloads of money, and an increasing number of clever Australians are cashing in on the billions on offer. As Peter Stefanovic discovers, it all has to do with accumulating followers. The more you have, the greater the influence you wield, and the more attractive you become to businesses willing to pay you huge dollars to promote their products. It’s not quite making money for nothing, but pretty close.
Reporter: Peter Stefanovic
Producer: Stefanie Sgroi

Right or Wrong?
Are we becoming too clever for our own good? Medical science has developed a simple blood test which can tell prospective mothers early in their pregnancies if their babies will have Down Syndrome. The test is 99 per cent accurate and doctors are lobbying to make it free for all Australian women who want to take it. However, nine out of ten mums who receive a positive result are already choosing to terminate their pregnancies. It’s a statistic that horrifies many because, if it continues, it may eliminate a beautiful and special part of our community.
Reporter: Liam Bartlett
Producers: Howard Sacre, Alice Dalley

Stevie & Chrissie
In rock ‘n’ roll it would be difficult to find two more successful or enduring women than Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde. It’d be even harder to find two more different rock legends. For the uninitiated, Stevie rose to fame as the mystical frontwoman of the supergroup Fleetwood Mac, while Chrissie was the feisty lead singer of The Pretenders. Now, to the surprise of many, including themselves, they have teamed up and hit the road. In a very short time, Stevie and Chrissie have not only proven that opposites really do attract, but as they told Liz Hayes, they’ve also shown the world how wonderful it is to be 60-something-year-old-women making a lot of noise.
Reporter: Liz Hayes
Producer: Phil Goyen

Question Time
Unlike his many colleagues at Channel Nine, and millions of television viewers in lounge rooms around the country, there were probably quite a few MPs who breathed a sigh of relief when Laurie Oakes announced his retirement. After all, for politicians, the mere thought of being the subject of an Oakes story on the nightly news was enough to raise a cold sweat. For more than half a century Laurie has reported – without fear or favour – the biggest scoops in Federal Parliament. Along the way he became the finest political journalist this country has produced. Before he retires his famous clipboard for good, longtime friend Charles Wooley thought he’d find out if Laurie can answer questions as well as he can ask them.
Reporter: Charles Wooley
Producer: Ali Smith

8:30pm Sunday on Nine.

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