Jon Stewart
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- 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.
- 20020
Comedy Central - News
Sounds about right as Fox News Channel.
- 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!"
- ukit20
I always thought his views were pretty middle of the road, I wouldn't consider him very left wing. If anything his schtick was based on criticizing the establishment without ever really challenging it. At the same time he was obviously really good at pioneering this new format of news and it will be interesting to see what Comedy Central does now that both him and Colbert are leaving at the same time.
- thought john oliver is doing prettty much the same thing on HBOpango
- check your own bias2002
- I get my news from Newstoday so can't be bias!ukit2
- ya News today has Extreme Left, Right and bunch of cunts in the middle.pango
- Yeah, JS is only leftist by American standards. He's about as left as Barack Obama.sarahfailin
- ETM0
Daily Show does deliver news... as entertainment. It's brief and biased for sure, but it does make people aware of events unfolding. The biggest difference between them and mainstream media outlets is they don't hide the slant or bias pretending to be fair and impartial, when they are not.
Is it a substitute for news? No. But it at least provides some insight for a certain audience who might otherwise be more oblivious of current events. Even if a heavy slant accompanies the telling.
And for those of us who do follow the news from multiple sources and with scrutiny, that only provides added layers to the comedy that makes it more enjoyable.
- 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
- HijoDMaite0
Comedy is making fun of a situation. Satire is making fun of the way people react to a situation. Or something like that
- Fax_Benson0
Didn't John Oliver deputise for Stewart a while back? What was the consensus on Oliver from fans of the show in the US?
- jtb260
It's certainly not journalism. But that doesn't mean you can't be informed by it. At it's best it's a comedic counterbalance to the many follies of the 24 hour news cycle. If you average the two you might find yourself somewhat informed.
For god's sake though, read your news folks. Read 2-3 articles a day at least. Read them on different sites. NYT, Mother Jones and The Daily News are my regulars (I feel like it strikes the right balance).
Best news on television imho is the PBS Newshour.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- HijoDMaite0
I use to watch Kilborn too back in the day too.
Hey when is Jon Stewart's film about Iran going to come out?
- Its been out in hd on all the torrent sites about a week agomoldero
- eighteen0
Hijo it's out now or at least there is a torrent available
- Miguex1
I heard his interview on Howard Stern show not too long ago and Stewart was debating if he had the drive to continue the show, he said "it just might be time for me to leave tv for good".
I was bummed when I heard he was leaving the daily show, I agree it's pretty much the only trustworthy news source I follow
- BabySnakes0
I enjoy Jon Stewart and the Daily Show, but I think the show could continue without him.
- eighteen1
Who could possibly replace him? Also, who is Craig Kilborn?
