"20/20" Children of the Plains Episode Watched by 4.74 Million Viewers

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »

A Win for ABC

NEW YORK - "A Hidden America: Children of the Plains" on ABC's "20/20" on Friday night, October 14 was a hit for the network. According to Nielsen's fast national data, the newsmagazine drew 4.74 million total viewers and a 1.7 rating among Adults 25-54.

With the ABC News anchor and veteran journalist Diane Sawyer's report "A Hidden America: Children of the Plains,", "20/20" surged over its lead-in by 1.6 million viewers and gained audience throughout the broadcast, producing its most-watched telecast in over 2 months and hit a 13-week high in the key Adult 25-54 news demo (since 8/5/11 and 7/8/11, respectively). Sawyer's report took in-depth look at the young dreamers and survivors of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, fighting against decades of neglect.

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"A Hidden America: Children of the Plains" »

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is one of the poorest places to live in the United States where unemployment rates are estimated to range from 65 percent to 80 percent and 47 percent individuals live below the poverty level.

"A Hidden America: Children of the Plains" is the result of a one-year long filming of the four Lakota youth, who shared on screen their dreams and aspirations for the future.

posted October 24, 2011 6:50 am edt