What mainstream media can learn from "The Daily Show"

The lesson of "The Daily Show" isn't that reporters should try to be funny, but that they should try to be honest, say media observers. "Stop being so doggone scared of everything," one journalism professor advises journalists. "I think there is much less courageousness than there needs to be. There are people out there who stick out because of their fearlessness." He cites CBS' Lara Logan as an example of a reporter who is fearless about saying the truth. (American Journalism Review)

Comments

[Mullah Omar]

Yeah, but the daily show gets its content from the news business. The only thing the Daily Show adds is snark and commentary.

[bigalexe]

I find that the Daily Show creates comedy by telling things like they are and pointing out things that the main news media fails to or wont acknowledge. They also do alot of altercation and fake stories but that doesn't make the first part any less potent

[many]

The daily show gets it content from the wire feeds like everyone else. Jon Stewart's righteous snark is well thought out and usually on target.

I don't understand why exposing hypocrisy, intentional obfuscation and stupidity is considered funny, to me it is pathetic and sad.

[Sean, Torrington CT]

Fox News has been letting its reporters spout opinions as facts for some years now...this professor is way out of touch up in his ivory tower!

[wonderin']

I can handle 'pointing things out and telling it like it is' but the few times I've tried to watch The Daily Show, I got so disgusted at Jon Stewart's mugging for the cameras and obvious delight with himself (oooh I'm sooo witty, oooh I'm sooo funny) I changed channels before the first commercial break.

'Righteous snark' - there's only so much of it one person can take, y'know?

[KF]

So...the mainstream media is comprised of stooges regurgitating government propaganda and soft-peddling the crooks in Washington? And...in order to get the "real news", we have to seek out the "alternative" media? Wow...I thought the only people who still fell for these cheesy cliches were rebellious teenagers listening to Rage Against the Machine and complaining about "the man" through a hazy cloud pot smoke.

[DCer]

You all are astroturfing this from Fox, right? The media of which every single poster above me discusses is not true. Jon Stewart reacts to the camera in traditional stand-up comedian ways as if to ask, "Did that really happen?" He does not do it as if to say, "I'm so witty." Perhaps the poster has never seen Jack Benny or Milton Berle or to a lesser extent Bob Hope who Stewart channels during his show. It's all a very traditional Borscht Belt kind of comedy, very World War II style, very very traditional. That incongruity, between Stewart's everyman attitude and the jokey gravitas of the correspondents, most notably Stephen Colbert is the joke. Methinks you all are cultural illiterates. Educate yourselves, your ignorance is palpable.

[wonderin']

DCer - whatever. He still sucks. He sucked before he started the Daily Show.

Me thinks you need not be literate to know the difference. But thanks for caring enough to encourage us to better ourselves... ;-P

[Nell]

DCer, I noticed the reference to Jack Benny as well and mulled it over. You're good to spot Milton Berle as well. There is that wonderful stare...that communicates both "Did tht really happen" and "nothing whatever is going on."

Did you see him with Don Rickles a few nights ago? Rickles is 15 minutes older than god and he can still bring it. The story about Joey Gallo, bout blew me out. I'm watching Kelly's Heros (best american war movie ever) tonight in his honor.

For some reason I am suddenly missing Ernie Kovacs and Percy Dovetonsils.

[The Asshole Guy]

The Daily Show is funny as hell and John is the freaking man. The Colbert Report is also very funny. I try to watch them both every night because they DO tell it like it is and they interview people that are interesting and not boring.

If you don't like it, don't watch it. I don't like FOX news so I don't watch it.

[pnwgal]

I agree with TAG - I think Jon Stewart is hilarious and I rarely miss his show. Not as crazy about the Colbert Report, but it still gets laughs in our house.

It's about the only news/politics show Mr. PNWgal and I can watch without ending up in a screaming match.

[anonymouse]

I get my news from various sources, but I'd say the main ones are the Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Christian Science Monitor (online).

I consider the Christian Science Monitor to be one of the last bastions of true journalism. Boots on the ground... investigating... interviewing... gathering facts. It's sad that this is so rare in our country.

[WZ]

I love the Daily Show. :)

[princessalex]

heheh. we just had a (belated) mother's day tea at my kindergarteners' school. at these, they always have a sheet of paper with questions on it. the idea is: the parent asks the kid the question, then writes down (if the kid can't, yet) the kid's answer.

to the question, "what's my favorite tv show?", my kid -- with absolutely NO coaching -- said, "the daily show!"

{sniff} brings a tear to my eye, i tell ya!

[princessalex]

and, i really don't get people's issue with jon "hamming it up." virtually all of his humor is self-deprecating. most of the time, that just gets old. but, jon does it in a very endearing way.

my husband knows that, if jon were available (and, interested), i'd be gone in a heartbeat . . .

;)

(of course, the same holds true for kari of mythbusters! mroowwwwrrrr!)

[The Asshole Guy]

princessalex if I could have 1 day with Kari from mythbusters I would be happy and content for the rest of my life. I want to have sex with that woman badly.

Why I do, I have no clue but damn she is just sexy as hell. Smart, cute ass, nice boobs, little waist, nice hips and she is attractive equals me wanting to nail her till my penis falls off. So I do have a clue. HOT DAMN!!!

Ok, back to the real world.

[princessalex]

damn, tag. you just publicized all my thoughts every time i watch mythbusters!

(btw, enjoy: http://www.nuclearbeef.com/kari_byron_and_scottie_chapman_pics/)

[JDubs]

Daily Show annoys the shit out of me. Every politician or political point of view is turned into a caricature and it gets old. The audience is a bunch of self righteous quasi intellectuals evidenced by them laughing hysterically at any video clip they show no matter how unfunny and bland it is.

Jon Stewart: "Here is a clip of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer"

Video clip: "Yeah we still have a lot to work on with this Immigration Bill."

Jon Stewart smirks into the camera...Audience erupts in laughter.

[UpperClass Becky]

While Stewart may be witty and insightfully sarcastic, I would rather do what I always do: Read several different sources, and gleen the truth from the combination. You actually can get a more accurate story that way. I am also intelligent enough to read between the lines. So, no, I won't be getting my news from John Stewart. Maybe if we get him, Colbert, and Bill O'Riley in the same room, we can get a sliver of truth out of the three of them if we squint really hard and use tweezers.

[spacey]

jon stewart is my hero. as is colbert.

i wish i could convey all the thoughts im thinking right now. they draw conclusions that even the greatest conspiracy theorist liberal bleeding heart would miss. they get it, and they sell it. they get the younger generation interested in politics cuz they are funny. hell part of my obsession with politics is from those shows, i used to watch it in the killborn days, and i gotta say...its come a long way.

i'll be a quasi intellectual in the audience at stewart both 9/18 and 11/5

i am thrilled beyond compare!

and kari annoys the hell out of me. she gives a bad name to all the redheaded big boobed smartypants everywhere!
i like the blonde better, shes brilliant and sexy. kari seems really dumb to me.

[UpperClass Becky]

Maybe that's my problem. I look at it with old, mainstream eyes. Maybe I'll give it another try. I am a fairly open minded person. It's possible I'm judging it using the wrong measuing stick.

[The Asshole Guy]

I'm tech support, cardiology brown.

Not dishwasher, parking attended brown.

LMFAO!!!!

That was pure comic genius.

[thomas]

anonymous is quite correct in recommending the Christian
Science Monitor as a last bastion of true and honest journalism. if you are close enough to the border, or have a short wave radio, the CBC will give you a good dose of un-messed around with reporting. i don't trust the networks anymore, except when they have the good sense to air the Daily Show. would Stewart's real last name have a negative impact on the show??

[Cherie]

Well, I see the writers point, but if reporters remove the "filter" all we'll end up with is their opinions and the news will turn into Dan Rather's Opinion or Katie Couric's Opinion or whatever. Then we'd have to try to balance every news show with a libertarian host, a liberal host, a concervative host and a socialist host...it would be a fiasco. What REALLY needs to happen in the media is a re-focus on positive stories and less attention to the negative. If more attention were on the positive...more positive would start happening...the laws of attraction.

[jdotglenn]

"What REALLY needs to happen in the media is a re-focus on positive stories and less attention to the negative. If more attention were on the positive...more positive would start happening...the laws of attraction."

Oh no, not one of these awful yippies. Yeah, we need to concentrate on the positive, that way only positive stuff will happen! Forget wars and energy shortages and, well, anything important; for we can simply wish them away with our positive positivity! That's the way the Universe works, just ask, like, Eistein and Gandhi and Oprah! With the power of positivity, there is no such thing as scarcity, no need for hard work or human knowledge! The Universe gives what you ask, the Universe cares, just ask positivabble-ly!

Law of Attraction my aching ass.

[princessalex]

jdot,

i watched "the secret" with a coule of friends. the part that made me laugh out loud -- and, incur glares from my friends -- was when they said that the "law of attraction" is like magnetism: like attracts like.

wtf??? um, i thought magnets attracted OPPOSITES, and REPEL like!!!

jeesh! at least get your metaphors right!

there is no "law of attraction." hell, this "law" is supposedly based on quantum physics, but they apparently don't even know what quantum physics is. it's all pseudoscience and wanna-be spirituality.

life is not about having everything you want. you don't reach nirvana/salvation by seeing how f-ing greedy you can become. i'm not sure about much of this universe/life, but i'm pretty damned sure about that one.

[princessalex]

"i like the blonde better, shes brilliant and sexy. kari seems really dumb to me."

spacey,

yeah, kari's pretty dumb sometimes. but, just like guys, i can put up with dumb if there's enough cute! ;)

and, "the blonde" -- are you talking about the welder? i think her name's scottie. i think she's awesome!

[Nell]

Trying to point "the media" in one direction or another is sort of like doing the same for "Society". Neither has an address and you can NEVER get them on the phone.

The Media, Our Society (and host of other terms)...are convenient, poorly defined, amorphous (and acephalus) abstractions. You can't "make" them do anything, since they aren't any THING to start with.

[spacey]

yeah i guess everytime i see her shes welding.

still hate kari.

and ya wanna know whats wrong with the media? its profit driven. it wasn't always like that. before 24 hour news channels and things, the news was a public service of the networks. they knew they'd take a loss on it monetarily, but it was done for the sake of service. now its main focus is to report what sells.

and the most heartbreaking of all of it is...NOBODY GIVES A DAMN ANYWAY!

it really hurts me to see my demographic worry more about what body part britney spears is shaving than whats going on with our peers in iraq. and to see politics as some secret society of corrupt liars that isnt even worth beign educated about.

no matter what people say about how our votes dont count and getting involved doesnt matter, i still refuse to believe it. i dont think politics is something that is in this other realm, i think its right here, its us, we can be just as involved as the rest of 'em.

weird rant, but take it as you will.

viva la stewart!

[anonymouse]

Ask the universe, "What can I do for you?"

and the universe returns with "What can I do for you?"

It's an echo-chamber, yo.

I've never heard of this "secret" but I think I understand what you're talking about.

...but news is news. Journalism is extremely important to prevent and fight injustice. Reporting only the positive or giving out positive vibes or whatever this "secret" is... well that's not journalism. That's called sticking your head in the sand. Quite the opposite of journalism. We need to examine the ugly more than the beautiful. It's only then that we can make it beautiful.

Anyone buy that?

[UpperClass Becky]

Nell, Cherie, trying to point the media in one direction or the other is called slanting the news. All news media do this all the time. Even John Stewart. They do it to get you to watch their news program, or read their newspaper. That, what i meant about reading or watching my news from several different media and trying to gleen some glimmer of truth out of all of it. Then you only get a very narrow view of what's going on. If we all new everything all the time, it would likely drive us insane. It's almost like 1984, If you don't give people enough information, they know you're lying. If you give them too much, they either think you are lying, or they revolt. It's called thought control. Oh yes, Big Brother is real.