Jon Stewart
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- nb0
^ "say whatever you want I will still cherish him, because he says exactly what I want to hear" - GeorgesII
I've been a big fan of the Daily Show, as a comedy about news media and television and politics. Funny stuff.
BUT.... GeorgesII quote above illustrates perfectly one major problem with The Daily Show. I hear friends actually speak proudly (PROUDLY!) that it's the only news show they follow. As though it's some badge of honour to limit yourself to a show that has spent YEARS rehashing the same old "Isn't that craaaazy???" punchlines.
This is absurd. It's a comedy show, but mostly it's an EDITORIAL show. Talk to someone who watches The Daily Show and see how much they understand about what's going on in the world. They'll have a lot of opinions, but not too many facts. I have friends (Canadian & American) who watch Daily Show four nights a week and they couldn't tell you who Angela Merkel is, for example.Then, talk to someone who watches Fox News and see what they know. You'll find that it's about the same amount of information, just completely different stories/sides of the news. Again, a lot of opinions, but not too many facts.
People love to have to their beliefs confirmed, and anyone with a successful editorial show (comedy or otherwise) has figured this out. Stewart is no better than Bill O'Reilly or any of the other talking head editorialists. The only difference is that YOU agree with Stewart. And in your mind, that validates his show.
For years he's been hiding behind the excuse of "we're just a comedy show" while he understands very well that his fans often refer to it as "the only news show" they follow. Then, in literally the next breath, he will criticize Bill O'Reilly for not being more of a critical news man. Bill defends himself by saying "everyone knows I do opinion" while at the same time he knows that his fans don't know the difference between editorials and the actual news. Stewart claims it's just a comedy show? Watch an interview with any major political figure. Often, there will be not one single joke during the entire interview. Especially if it's someone on the other side of the political spectrum. Stewart uses the same interview tactics as O'Reilly. If the guest makes a valid point, cut him off quickly with a joke. Swipe your hand across the desk and say "Ok, ok, but what about...." wiping the slate clean.
Meanwhile, the audience keeps on watching, night after night, having their own personal beliefs validated while the world is presented to them in easy to digest black and white. And they don't even have to worry about thinking critically about the issues.
O'Reilly and Stewart produce debates and work together to ramp up their fans. Watch those debates, they're hilarious, but also pay attention to something: Stewart's fans think Stewart wins, and O'Reilly's fans think O'Reilly wins. And when the credits roll, you get "Produced by Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly."
This is not anything like what Cronkite or any of the other famous newsmen did. They asked questions, and let the subject speak for themselves. Most importantly, they let the audience decide for themselves. This is journalism.
Anyway, the fact that CNN and others are complete shit does not make The Daily Show a news program. It just means that TV news has dropped the standard of quality so low that we don't recognize mediocrity because it's surrounded by shit.
You want the news? Watch PBS Newshour or Frontline, or NPR. Or better yet, start reading: The Economist, Der Speigel, The New York Times. (And remember that the paid/print versions often have better content than the free section of their sites.
Or, if you just want the facts so you can start thinking for yourself: follow Reuters, Associated Press, or AFP.
((TL;DR: Daily Show was funny but not news, and ultimately makes you dumber. Real news programming still exists, you just have to want it.))
- CBC & BBC are pretty good, too, if you're interested in Canadian or British related news.nb
- But, CBC Newsworld (the CBC 24hr news channel) is as shitty as CNN. Do not watch. Instead, try CBC "The National".nb
- shit I'm aggreeing with nb, as a big D.S fan, I felt bad when I realized they were no different from the people they were making fun of, they just played it more on the downlow while pushing their own messageGeorgesII
- making fun of, they just played it more on the downlow while pushing their own messageGeorgesII
- Ya bcc the national is great. They don't sensationalise any event nor being stupid opinionated.pango
- They talk about Angela Merkel. Why do I need to know who she is though?omahadesigns
- Thanks, nb. well articulated and illuminating.Gnash
- nailed it nbPonyBoy
- well said nbMilan
- pr2-6
Pretty much what "nb" said above.
- omahadesigns2
The network TV news isn't all informative information. They talk about celebrities and useless info too.
The Daily Show is a hell of a lot better than Good Morning America or Fox and Friends though.
Is it journalism? No.
Is it informative and interesting? Yes.
Is it smart? Yes.
Is it a replacement for the newspaper? No.Do we really need to know everything that is happening in the world all the time? Not sure.
- SteveJobs0
"Do we really need to know everything that is happening in the world all the time?"
too many fallacies often surround the argument supporting that idea.
some people just have an inclination towards being informed and in the know about all matters, some don't.
- All matters.omahadesigns
- YES! We need to know everything!!
http://2.bp.blogspot…pango - meh... close enough.pango
- pr2-7
As much as we want to believe that we'll offset the time wasted on JS' infotainment with quality information - that is barely ever the case. Most likely we'll simply watch more entertainment news.
As was mentioned above, i have a score of friend who used to watch JS religiously believing that they are educating themselves. Needless to say they were incredibly ignorant about basic issues. Somehow they believed that JS' collection of random trivia and half-facts clothed in his jokes is a real substitute for scrupulous fact checking.
Ultimately it IS entertainment and as all good entertainments do, it leaves you fulfilled even though empty of any concrete tangibility.
- teh1
Heard he is going to CNN just in time for the presidential election.
- yurimon-6
I liked john Stewart at first until I started paying attention to the more subliminal side of his jokes. though tempting are his logical fallacies, I now find him as a monkey ass crony to big corporate media with a facade if something rational or witty but its stupid from the point of view of real intelligence. cultural Marxist boosheit
- From the sounds of it...you really use to love him, I'm shocked.organicgrid
- Yurimon you will use any excuse to use the phrase "logical fallacy" without ever expounding.monospaced
- Lots of words without saying a single fucking thing. Cultural Marxist? Wtf?monospaced
- "cultural Marxist" whoa? what exactly are you on about?pango
- Maybe it's lost in translation. I'd be interested to read him in his mother tongue.ORAZAL
- yuekit0
- I don't find this dude funny at all.Al_dizzle
- crazy. it's true that jon was unknown when he took over the show, but it also wasn't as big a deal as it is now.sarahfailin
- He wasn't exactly unknown either. Remember his show on MTV? lolyuekit
- never heard of himdbloc
- sarahfailin0
One thing that hasn't been said here about the Daily Show isn't so much a news show as a show ABOUT the news. They report ON the news, giving you a digest about what is being said and not being said about issues on TV.
To me, bringing to light how party talking points come out in supposedly independent news reporting has been a significant contribution to journalism. The Daily Show revealed how ideology is propagated by Fox News through repetition, and they show how lacking in journalistic merit the rest of so called TV reporting is.
When Bill O'Reilly pointed out how Jon was biased, and how they weren't doing real reporting, Jon replied (I'm parsing), "That's not my job. I'm a comedian. My show comes on before the puppets that make prank phone calls. You're the guy who calls his show the 'No Spin Zone.'"
I think that the Daily Show has been the voice of a generation of people who admittedly are not scholars nor news hounds but who see the serious deficits in what the major outlets are offering them in terms of information. By reporting on the inadequacy of the TV news itself, the Daily Show offered that age-old proclamation which every citizen loves to relish: "The emperor has no clothes!"
- eighteen0
I wonder if John Stewart is being forced to resign because of what he said about the Ferguson verdict. He basically dropped the comedy act and said that society is crumbling, it wouldn't be surprising if the gov't pulled some strings to shut him up.
- I doubt it. He had the show for a very long time, and he's old. Makes perfect sense to retire on top.nb
- he announced on howard stern a long time ago, he was just tired and was looking to do something new.Miguex
- Oh.eighteen
- "gov't pulled some strings to shut him up." Really?freedom
- It's happened beforeeighteen
- johnny_wobble0
I think he's gonna run for office.
- stewart?dbloc
- One can only hope.ArmandoEstrada
- he would get voted indbloc
- yeah, i'm talking about stewart. that was my first thought when he said he was leaving.johnny_wobble
- you're all out of your mindsPonyBoy
- No way.jtb26
- Ianbolton0
Has anyone seen Charlie Brooker's Newswipe? That's not the news, but it does still make understand just how stupid and fucked the world can be.
- BusterBoy0
This new guy strikes me as a reasonable guest and occassional fill-in but in no way does he come across as someone that could front the show.
Am I wrong?
- Projectile0
It seems Trevor, the replacement, might not be the replacement any more because of some borderline jokes from a few years back - the internet's gone batshit crazy!
- Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man. #BeatsByDreidelProjectile
- A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you'll probably never get to ride it.
— Trevor NoahProjectile
- colin_s0
so a comedian can't host a comedy show because he said some jokes that not everyone found OK
fuck this country sometimes
- nb0
Yeah, it's too bad we fell the need to "weigh in" and pull apart everything, we judge people on their worst and refuse to forgive or let anything go.
I think most people for a long time have felt that their opinion is soooo important, like they're entitled to be offended or excited and that their opinion matters. Of course, it's not true. They don't matter.
Sadly, these days Twitter and social media are validating these opinions as relevant. A major shift was when the shitty-news (most media outlets) started to report on what people were saying on Twitter.
I mean, when you see CNN report something like "GatorFan1973 had this to say on Twitter....", how can we expect people to not feel entitled to an opinion? We're just encouraging everyone to speak up without thinking. It is this very act that has now gotten Trevor Noah into trouble: speaking publicly without pausing to think. And now, what do we do as a group? We open up Twitter and add to the noise.
Twitter and other social media is amazing and great and I'd never want to go back to the time before it. Unfortunately, it often pushes us, as a group, towards the mind-numbing average.
- fyoucher10
Prediction: He's getting his own show on HBO. HBO to do daily news (kinda like John Olivers but ever day rather than the weekend). You heard it here first ;P
- Salarrue0
But...
Comedy Central backs 'Daily Show's' Trevor Noah after questionable tweets
