When most people think of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", they don't think of substantial news. Generally speaking, people think of it as it is intended, a satirical piece of comedy (given it is on a network called "Comedy Central").
But with the way that most news networks are perceived these days, it's hard to take any news station serious. So why not go for a show that at least admits to its purposeful lack of integrity and objectivity and makes news just plain hilarious.
October 2, 2008 was a big day as far as news goes and Stewart definitely had his hands full. Stewart covered for the most part the bailout plan and Senator John McCain's response to it.
He started the show talking about the Vice Presidential debates that happened earlier in the evening between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. He, however, made more fun of the people expecting Palin to choke then Palin herself.
The next topic of satire was over the bailout bill that was passed by the senate. Stewart focused primarily on McCain's contradictions during the same interview over him saying how proud he was because he suspended his campaign, but also saying this will not solve everything, that "this is a tourniquet, this isn't a cure". Stewart went on to compare Golum from "Lord of the Rings" to John McCain with his impersonations and facial expressions.
And with all of this joking, Stewart and the crew at "The Daily Show" still have managed to inform us on what is going on in the nation today.
Julia R. Fox from Indiana University did a study of the show's coverage of the 2004 presidential election. The study, which was published in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
in 2007, concludes that "The Daily Show" is just as substantial to news as any other network broadcast, despite the fact that Jon Stewart calls himself a comedian and not a journalist.
"Thus, the argument could be made that while the amount of substance per story was not significantly different, the proportion of each story devoted to substance was greater in the network news stories than in stories from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", said Fox in her study entitled, "No joke: a comparison of substance in The Daily show with Jon Stewart and broadcast network television coverage of the 2004 presidential election campaign"
All together, Stewart's Emmy award winning show is a funny, substantial source of news information, even if it is biased. Take that, Katie Couric.
The show is on Monday through Wednesday night at 11pm Pacific time on Comedy Central. "The Daily Show" is followed by it's republican counterpart, "The Colbert Report" which is hosted by Steven Colbert who used to be a news correspondent on "The Daily Show" until he branched off onto his own and debuted in October of 2006.
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3 comments:
Why The Daily Show didn't cover the debate was because it was filmed before the debate happened.
This is why we need new legislation that major events can't happen late on Thursdays, because then The Daily Show doesn't get to poke at it until Monday.
Well shoot, that didn't unsurface in my findings, but I'm glad you mentioned it, and I agree about the late night debate.
A very nicely written review, thorough and easy to read.
Bravo, or as Jon Oliver might say, Spot On...
The writer makes good points about how The Daily Show actually has quite a bit of news content, hinting that if you don't keep up with the news, this show doesn't make too much sense.
What would be nice is for some academician to study who is better informed, the average 30-year-old who watches The Daily Show vs. ones who don't.
I think I know the answer, but let the professors get their grant money.
The writer also put in the column when the show is on and how to find it - a very necessary touch for any column review.
Encore, Encore!
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