Whitney Houston’s Death Ranked Among TV’s 20 Most Impactful Moments

Robbie Daw | July 12, 2012 10:24 am

Sony Electronics and the Nielsen television research company released a study of TV’s Most Impactful Moments of the past 50 years on Wednesday. The survey was conducted in February of this year via an online questionnaire of 1,077 adults, and the resultant televised events were ranked by whether people remembered watching them (hence the oldest event being the JFK assassination in 1963), if they recalled where they watched it, who they were with and whether they talked to other people about what they had seen.

The three leading TV moments were the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995. Music-wise, the coverage of Whitney Houston‘s death on the weekend of February 11 this year ranked at #11, while Janet Jackson‘s infamous wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show came in at #26.

The first 20 of TV’s Most Impactful Moments:

1. Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (2001)

2. Hurricane Katrina (2005)

3. The O.J. Simpson verdict (1995)

4. The Challenger space shuttle explodes (1986)

5. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011)

6. The O.J. Simpson White Bronco chase (1994)

7. The Japanese earthquake and tsunami (2011)

8. Columbine school shooting (1999)

9. BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico (2010)

10. Princess Diana’s funeral (1997)

11. Death of Whitney Houston (2012)

12. Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein (2006)

13. Barack Obama Election Night speech (2008)

14. Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (2011)

15. John F. Kennedy assassination (1963)

16. Oklahoma City bombing (1995)

17. Bush/Gore disputed election (2000)

18. Los Angeles riots, Rodney King beating (1992)

19. Casey Anthony murder trial verdict (2011)

20. John F. Kennedy funeral (1963)

[Via The Huffington Post & Boston.com]