Rant about The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, and the media.
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/5414214.html?thread=328392006#t328392006
There is a difference between being on CNN and on Comedy central; or there should be. Jon has always said that he and his show concentrate on the things that they have opinions on, not that they are 'truth tellers' of some kind; because they aren't.They're not trying to get people to change their minds about things, they don't claim to have all the answers, so whether people agree with them or not, it doesn't matter, because they do their shows out of their point of view, and are honest about it.
The media, on the other hand, claims to be unbiased News, when they are actually creating a certain narrative of their network, and then they try to maintain it by being biased, leave out facts, and have opinion shows on it.
The difference between CNN/FOX/MSNBC and TDS, is that TDS doesn't claim to have all the facts, they openly admit that they are biased, have opinions, when the 'real news' don't.
I don't think of The Daily Show as a news; they might be less biased than the real 'news channels', because they try to keep facts and earth logic in their shows, but they still show their point of view on things; I just happen to agree with them. This is why people have come to count on them instead of the 'real news', to get a more honest view on things. But despite this, the fact is, that they still do their show in of their point of view, point out things *they* find stupid; not things they want other people to believe.
They just don't have a narrative to maintain, so they can often be more honest, show both sides of the media, while proving their points.
A lot of people agree with what they point out, and that has put them in a place where it gets harder and harder for them to deny their own impact; the impact that they never asked for in the first place.
Jon is not the one claiming to be a journalist, yet people are focusing on him and expecting him to be doing a job that the media has long since abandoned. The media has stopped doing their job, and because of The Daily Show pointing out this, people have come to expect them to do the job instead, which they never claimed to do.
It should be said, though, that they do sometimes use this impact to their advantage, which does make them look hypocritical. They use the comedy defense when people critisize them, but point out stupidity and certain situations, when they know people are impacted by it, and believe what they say. But the difference, for me, is that while they do this, they never say that people should take every word they say seriously, like the MSM does.
I do wish that Jon would be honest about this, talk about it, and recognize what many people perceive his show to be. I wish that he would adress this directly without his self-deprecating remarks or jokes, and I hope he will at one point, because he can't have it both ways.
For me, though, it still comes down to this:
There are the media claiming to be news/not biased, but are, giving people biased information, creating a narrative of their network.
Then there is The Daily Show, pointing out this, because no one else does, while still not claiming to be part of the media.
I don't think that it's TDS there should be focus on, but the MSM instead. Jon isn't the one causing the most damage to the society, imho.
Also, I want people to know that despite my Jon stanning I do see other people's valid points about him/TDS and I do think about it. I'm honestly not as blinded by him as people might think. I call him out when I feel like he mess up, and I hope people can see that.