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You Can't Be Serious: How a Comedian Became the most Influential Voice in American Politics
When Jon Stewart inaugurated his fake news anchor on The Daily Show eight years ago, his goal was to send up the hyperbolic and manufactured controversy of US Cable News and, if possible, be even more outrageous. Now, in a wonderful through-the-looking-glass moment, he has supplanted the subjects of his mockery in the country's current affairs consciousness, and finds himself crowned the bemused voice of reason in an insane world.The underground comic has become such a cultural touchstone that The New York Times asked this week whether he has become "the most trusted man in America".
For anyone who has missed the influential anchor, then his take on the way mainstream media peddles false rumours about Barack Obama is instructive. He calls it "Baracknophobia" and shows clips of blow-dried anchors and experts repeating widely-believed but baseless rumours - that the Democrat is actually a secret Muslim, a plagiarist, a misogynist etc. The purveyor of fake news lacerates the networks' talking heads as they blame the internet for rumour mongering about Obama.
The highlight is a straight-faced Mr Stewart saying: "Oh, this is interesting. SomeguyI'veneverheardof.com is reporting presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama has lady parts. Obviously scurrilous and unfounded, we'll examine it tonight in our special, 'Barack Obama's Vagina: The October Surprise In His Pants'."
The latest sign of how far the show and its host have come from their edgy early days will come at the Democratic Convention in Denver, where he and his reporters are fully accredited.
When asked last year by the Pew Research Centre to name the journalist they most admired, Americans placed the fake news anchor Mr Stewart at number four on the list. He was tied with such luminaries as Tom Brokaw of NBC, Dan Rather, then of CBS, and Anderson Cooper of CNN.
The Daily Show and the equally funny and successful Colbert Report shows are broadcast more than 23 times a week, "from Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York". The side-street studio on Manhattan's West Side is not only the undisputed locus of fake news, but it is increasingly the epicentre of real news - administered with a wrapping of college humour.
The whispered advice of a State Department spokesman to a foreign correspondent trying to make sense of American politics was very simple: tune into The Daily Show. "I watch the reruns every morning at 10.30," she said, "it's the only way to find out what's really going on."
The Daily Show is also a top priority for ambitious politicians and was described by Newsweek as "the coolest pit stop on television" for presidential candidates, world leaders and ex-presidents. While mainstream news gave an even-handed report on the legacy of the Blair-Bush years after Tony Blair's farewell visit to Washington last year, The Daily Show tore Mr Blair to ribbons.
One of the programme's signature techniques - of using video montages showing politicians contradicting themselves - is now a staple technique of mainstream news shows.
Nor is The Daily Show afraid of tackling what it calls "super depressing" stories, such as President George Bush's decision to approve the use of torture after the September 11 attacks and the unprecedented concentration of executive power by the White House. Interviews with serious authors such as Seymour Hersh have helped focus attention on potentially illegal acts by the Bush administration and win a wider audience for their work.
Mr Stewart's frequent outbursts of "Are you insane?!" seems to capture the post-M*A*S*H, post-Catch-22 sensibilities of a country that waged a war in Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction that did not exist. Now, with the most promising candidate in generations running for president, Mr Stewart asks whether the country may be about to reject him at the ballot box because of rumours that he is Muslim.
The purpose of The Daily Show is to entertain, not inform, Mr Stewart insists, and he likens his job to "throwing spitballs" from the back of the room. But he and the high-powered writers who work with him like nothing better than tackling the big issues of the day - in ways that straight news programs cannot.
"Hopefully, the process is to spot things that would be grist for the funny mill," Mr Stewart, 45, told The New York Times. "In some respects, the heavier subjects are the ones that are most loaded with opportunity because they have the most ... potential energy, so to delve into that gives you the largest combustion, the most interest. I don't mean for the audience. I mean for us."
The Daily Show's success comes from blending the informality and attitude of bloggers with the hard-nosed research and expertise of the best investigative reporters to reveal a new news medium. Like bloggers, a key to his show's success is the authenticity that comes from in-depth reporting, combined with stating the blindingly obvious.
Every day begins with a morning meeting where material culled from 15 video recorders, as well as newspapers, magazines and websites, is pored over. The meeting, Mr Stewart says, "would be very unpleasant for most people to watch: it's really a gathering of curmudgeons expressing frustration and upset, and the rest of the day is spent trying to ... repress that through whatever creative devices we can find". Josh Lieb, one of the executive producers of the show, describes the process as looking for stories that "make us angry in a whole new way".
By 3pm a script has been prepared and Mr Stewart's rehearsals begin. After an hour of rewrites, taping the show starts at 6pm.
The fake news anchor may be the antidote to fake news, which has a habit of showing up in American newspapers. After all, the US government had an initiative in 2005 to plant "positive news" in Iraqi newspapers to sway public opinion about the war. The Bush administration has worked closely with big business to keep it flowing.
According to Professor Robert Love, of Columbia Journalism School: "They have used fringe scientists and fake experts to muddy scientific debates on global warming, stem-cell research, evolution, and other matters."
For all his fakery, Mr Stewart may be pointing the way to the future of news: bluntness and informality fused with ruthless editing and a funny bone which helps to ensure that stories he wants to cover are watched.
©independent.co.uk
85 Comments so far
Show AllIn medieval courts, only the court jester could tell the monarch the truth. Perhaps Stewart's rising staus has to do with the fact that "The Daily Show" deals in the truth more than the actual cable news programs do.
jj
"In medieval courts, only the court jester could tell the monarch the truth"
Have you read King Lear, jesusofjonesboro? Stewart I find, is funnier than the network late night comics, who artificially, to be fair and balanced, tell one Dem joke then one Repub joke. Stewart calls the pols on their insanity, wherever he finds it.
Jon Stewart is also one of the funniest physical comedians this side of Michael Richards. He has a great feel for when a gag has gone on long enough, and his "fourth wall" technique is so completely integrated into his persona that you don't even notice it.
I have watched Jon Stewart many times and laughed my ass off. Now, I have to walk around assless.
I cant get "The Daily Show" in my new location, and have to settle for Keith Oberman.
It's okay. Jon will skewer both sides some, but his real loyalty will NOT be with McCain. Jon's an asset, not just a comedian.
What a statement on MSM. No wonder this country is so f____d up, when a faux news show is seen as a reliable source.
Seaweed, if you need an ass, Fox News has plenty to spare.
jj
timebiter,
And why not? FOX tries to pass itself off as a reliable source.
j of j,
I guess I better keep my day job. I'm never going to make it as a comedian.
stewart and colbert are heirs to a proud legacy extending back from SNL's "weekend update," through "rowan & martin's laugh-in" and the smothers brothers, all the way back to "that was the week that was" (it was once a badge of cool to refer to a bit seen on "TW3.")
through the years, we've seen a parade of pols trying to accrue some street cred by appearing on these shows. "the daily show" and "the colbert report" have taken this format to new heights, and improved our public discourse thereby (whether they've achieved any improvement of the pols themselves is debatable).
Joh simply points out the absurdity of the news, some of it so ridiculous that it can't be made up and must be as one comedian put it, "Mana from heaven." Without Joh to lighten to load of heavy duty depressing 'news' it would be pretty hard to swallow. Thanks for highlighting Joh's success. He is the only one I know that can take on the stooge O'Riley, one on one, and actually break apart the faker and do it without yelling or spitting or bad language, a clean sparring partner to the end.
But does telling a joke really change anything. People laugh-they dont get angry.
Talk radio may make people laugh--by mocking the left, but it also attempts to make people angry--write letters, phone calls. Stewart is more a valve for people to go: yeah-he's right.
But people stay lazy.
Years ago Jon took on two media whores from CNN and fucked them for all they were worth. Check out the video. It's only about 15 minutes but he got his money's worth.
Hoa binh
It was pathetic so see McBush go on The Daily Show time and again, trying to pimp himself for some young street cred.
Jon tore hime a new a-hole the last couple of times
"Years ago Jon took on two media whores from CNN"
Are you talking about "crossfire"? That was a classic thumpin'! I almost felt sorry for tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, which one wore the bow tie? Stewart sank that show. He said he was a citizen first, a comic second.
Stewart was the only way I could stay sane for the last 8 years. Because most of the time I just wanted to cry at what was becoming of the country, at least I could laugh and not take it too seriously and carry on.
Does anyone remember Fox News' attempt at a fake news comedy show? Me neither. They just aren't funny.
Here's the CNN Crossfire clip Since1942 referred to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
The Daily Show and Colbert Report are great release valves in a world full of depressing news, and, ironically, more informative than the so called MSM. Jon may think he's only trying to entertain but, like Carlin, he knows bullshit when he sees it and doesn't hold back.
A satirical "news" show that is much more truthful than the actual news, Franz Kafka would have a field day with this. As for Stewart's appearance on the late unlamented CNN program, "Crossfire," I watched it and only wished that it had occurred sooner. It is a sad state of affairs when television news has sunk so low, and Fox Noise Channel (abetted by the other corporate networks) has lead the race to irrelevancy.
BTW: here's a little fact for all the anti-semitic zionist / neo-con conspiracy nut bags trolling this site, Stewart is Jewish. It will be amusing to see them attempt to explain this away in their best Dana Perino-esque manner, if they dare.
The title of the story is exactly right. You can't be serious if you want to criticize government policy (such as the wars). TDS may not be "real" news but it's highly valuable as criticism. A good joke or aphorism can cut to the heart of many issues more effectively than any conventional op-ed. However, that does place TDS in the same category as any other pundit show(IMO), with one exception -- critics of TDS will only be stifled. That was the whole method of the CNN gotcha. IMO, Stewart drew/lost the debate ("you're hurting the country" is not an argument) with everyone's second favorite bow-tied yapper, but he won anyway, because Stewart made him look like a humorless Neidermayer.
If anyone needs a laugh 4 times a week it's us. It's great to see people that should be ridiculed, RIDICULED.
Stewart is also much, much smarter than the blow-dried talking heads.
BTW, who owns Comedy Central ??
Mark Twain was the first american satirical stand up comedian. He packed rooms with his "lectures!" There was a study done that found out humor is most remembered. I love that statement of Jon Stewart being the fake news-anchor-antidote to the fake news...right on!!
WARNING! The Surgeon General has determined that the drinking of milk, or other fluids, while watching the Daily Show should be considered funny and result in the production of projectile fluids through the nazal cavity. :-)
God what an odor! Did someone say Keith Oberman???
Those of you who can are lucky to be able to get the Daily Show, Colbert Report, or Keith Obermann. I'm stuck with the lackeys on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox (where I never go). Thank God I can find out what's really going on in the world on the Internet!
the daily show for president?
The Daily Show is available on iTunes. Unfortunately, it's not free.
Democracy Now is free, for those who prefer detailed coverage.
PURE GENIUS !!! How lucky we are to have Stewart and Colbert!
An earlier generation had Saturday Night Live lacerating the insufferables. Today, we have Stewart and Colbert, doing the same thing. Good job, guys!
This is a nice, light-hearted thread, at least compared to most on this site. It's a pity that NateW has to try to foul it with this piece of despicable bile.
"BTW: here's a little fact for all the anti-semitic zionist / neo-con conspiracy nut bags trolling this site, Stewart is Jewish. It will be amusing to see them attempt to explain this away in their best Dana Perino-esque manner, if they dare."
jj
TO ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE CABLE (like Canuckchuck and wilmoor):
www.thedailyshow.com and
www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport
are your new favorite websites. At these sites you can watch all the full episodes completely for free - yay!! Nobody should miss out on the genius of these two men, which is essentially how they feel about it. so fuck cable, as long as you have internet, you can get all the news and laughs you need to survive the insanity!
Just saw the comment by BreeMass. Maybe I can get rid of the thing.
I LOVE Jon Stewart!! If there was a man on this planet that I could steal away from his wife with no consequences, it would definitely be Jon Stewart. He is brilliant, funny and speaks truth to power. I have learned more about politics and world events from him and Stephen Colbert than through any "legitimate" news source in America.
Okay, sorry, had to fawn...I'm done now...
;)
Jon Stewart:
The ass-kisser of war criminals.
The king of the softball interview.
His most frequent guest: the "Maverick" McCain with 13 interviews.
You've got to love the addition of Ron Riggle. He's a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, public affairs division. What a welcome addition to the Daily Show! Their very own ""message force multiplier".
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20358198/
That being said, I watch Stewart/Colbert and often enjoy them.
(Colbert is much better than Stewart)
jesusofjonesboro WTF? So he is Jewish, he is not the Israeli government.
generallee, Jon Stewart's being Jewish has absolutely nothing to do with Stewart's performance on his show, the article above, or the thrust of comments in this thread.
But NateW didn't mention Stewart's faith as a positive reflection; he did so to smear critics of Israel's policies (and not very articulately).
jj
I don't agree with everything Jon Stewart says but I like the way he tries to be non-partisan and a bit more intelligent in his interviewing. He's not afraid to face anyone.
His show and the Colbert Report have helped me stay sane in an insane, neocon criminal world.
The only one who compares to Stewart and Colbert, although not in a humorous light is Keith Olbermann.
jesusofjonesboro - first off, Judaism is not a religion of faith. Second, your badly arrived at conclusion that I was smearing Israel's critics on this board is so off the mark as to elicit laughter. What can quite easily be inferred was my dead-on characterization of those whom borrow cliche anti-semitism and superimpose it on to current figures hit way too close to home, as most of them not touched this with a ten-foot pole. If you had bothered to read my prior relevant posts, you would know well I am no fan of AIPAC (whom for all intents and purposes, are an American auxiliary of the Likud Party). Conversely, the Palestinians are not pure as the driven snow either. The aforementioned anti-semitic neo-con / zionist conspiracy nut bags posts here are most trite, pathetic, and belong on the message boards of David Duke's web site.
"But does telling a joke really change anything. People laugh-they dont get angry.
Talk radio may make people laugh–by mocking the left, but it also attempts to make people angry–write letters, phone calls. Stewart is more a valve for people to go: yeah-he's right.
But people stay lazy."
Interesting point. I guess it's better to have people release some tension in the privacy of their homes than out on the street shooting people. Then again, isn't that what revolution is....but, is that what we need right now?
A peaceful revolution would save many an innocent bystander and a lot of rebuilding in a time when we are 8 years behind in what we need to accomplish.
"The underground comic has become such a cultural touchstone that The New York Times asked this week whether he has become "the most trusted man in America".
*************
Besides the great implicit insult this is to the memory of true journalists like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, it is actually inaccurate. Murrow and Cronkite were not doing what they did for laughs or entertainment. They truly were under intense pressure to knuckle under to "conventional wisdom" and the politically correct views of their day.
******************
"The latest sign of how far the show and its host have come from their edgy early days will come at the Democratic Convention in Denver, where he and his reporters are fully accredited."
********************
This is appropriate since all political conventions have become entertainment rather than news events. I wonder if they will be going to St. Paul for the Republican Convention. My advice if so is be sure to have an escort if you are going to the men's room. No telling where Larry Craig might show up.
***************
"The whispered advice of a State Department spokesman to a foreign correspondent trying to make sense of American politics was very simple: tune into The Daily Show. "I watch the reruns every morning at 10.30," she said, "it's the only way to find out what's really going on."
**************
"The fake news anchor may be the antidote to fake news, which has a habit of showing up in American newspapers. After all, the US government had an initiative in 2005 to plant "positive news" in Iraqi newspapers to sway public opinion about the war. The Bush administration has worked closely with big business to keep it flowing."
******************
"According to Professor Robert Love, of Columbia Journalism School: "They have used fringe scientists and fake experts to muddy scientific debates on global warming, stem-cell research, evolution, and other matters."
**************************
This stuff is still going strong night and day 7/24/365. The slogan of totalitarian resistance seems appropriate at this point: "Believe nothing the government says and everything it denies."
*******************
"For all his fakery, Mr Stewart may be pointing the way to the future of news: bluntness and informality fused with ruthless editing and a funny bone which helps to ensure that stories he wants to cover are watched."
************
For now Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are tolerated as amusement because it lets off steam and outrage and because it is a distraction of the reality of the security state prison that American society is rapidly becoming.
(Plus the owners of Comedy Central are making a bundle of money with it because like reality TV there is not very much overhead to producing a show)
It is intersting seeing such an insightful article in the London-based Independent. I wonder if any American conventional neswspaper would provide such an interesting article.
Both the Stewart and Colbert shows are brilliant with great writers. Just devastating and scathing, especially towards the so called "professional" news networks. What we are fed by the networks today is propaganda at best, lies and distortion at worst.
Anyone remember Colbert's performance at the Washington Press Corps. dinner a few years ago? Absolutely brilliant!!!
This article is disturbingly similar to the NYT piece and is at best significantly derivative and at worst outright plagiarism.
Someone asked who owned Comedy Central -- I think I've read it's part of the NBC group of channels.
Yes, sometimes Colbert is sharper than Stewart, but sometimes it's the other way around. My happiest nights, though, are when Jon has Louis Black on. Oh, that man is hysterically funny!
The Daily Show is owned by Comedy Partners, which is a part of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom International, once a part of CBS, but CBS and Viacom split in 2005, though it appears they still share some assets.
"Anyone remember Colbert's performance at the Washington Press Corps. dinner a few years ago?"
The comments on his website afterwards included many offers to have his children. Truthiness is so sexy.
KELMER 8/19 1:36pm raises the interesting point that Stewart's kind of humor leaves people agreeing with him, but lazy and not angry enough to change things.
Maybe so. But people seek out and respond to humor at hugely differing mental levels.
We have Olberman to do on the left what Limbaugh (more crudely) does on the right, and I think Olberman does get his audience's ire irked to a useful leftward degree pretty often.
Stewart (who openly declares he's no conservative) is interesting because there's no one comparable to his sharper/subtler wit on the right - for obvious reasons. His target audience (a combination of progs, better educated, moderate middle class lazies, quasi-uncomfortable deniers, and potentially rescuable full blown hypocrites) needs less to get Angry, for change, than Conscious of the rightwing idiocy they're blithely tolerating.
Most of these particular types wouldn't respond to muscular anger inducements, but they do tend to slowly change their minds via truth-revealing wit. Except for the progs, of course it's too slow.
What might really help is a civic fraternity of self-financed mega George Carlins, able to witticize the country into a Green revolution by geographical regions and appropriately overdone accents. Then most of us could laugh more without mockery or bitterness. In fact, maybe then we'd actually start to smile at politics -- a madman's dream at present.
NateW writes, "What can quite easily be inferred was my dead-on characterization of those whom borrow cliche anti-semitism and superimpose it on to current figures hit way too close to home, as most of them not touched this with a ten-foot pole."
Nate, that post is so badly written that I could have inferred anything I wanted. I get a kick out of posters who try to be clever with language and then get upset when others don't respond as they desired.
Nate also writes, "If you had bothered to read my prior relevant posts, you would know well I am no fan of AIPAC (whom for all intents and purposes, are an American auxiliary of the Likud Party)."
Do you really believe that I or anyone else is going to scour this website to get a better idea of your "true feelings"?
Nate wrote in his first post on this thread, "BTW: here's a little fact for all the anti-semitic zionist / neo-con conspiracy nut bags trolling this site, Stewart is Jewish."
The simple fact, Nate, is that this language can easily be seen as pro-AIPAC. As I mentioned earlier, it could be seen any way that a reader may be inclined.
Also, why even mention Stewart's faith (and yes, Jews do use the word "faith") at all? What does it have to do with a discussion of the man's success?
Don't try crawling up my ass because you can't write as well as you think you can.
jj