Rant about The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, and the media.

[iamashamed]

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

Comments

[bluetooth16]

In my mind, there's Fox and Liberal Fail (everyone else). It makes things so much easier.

[iamashamed]

Hah, yeah, sometimes I wish I could think like that; but my brain is a weird place to be in.

[bluetooth16]

My brain is also pretty strange as well (having to hold lots of contradictions simultaneously).

[iamashamed]

But at least you are honest about it, right? So many people aren't able to reconsider their opinions on things or admit when they are wrong.

[alexaandra89]

I have nothing intelligent to add, so i'm just going to say: Fuck Fox.

[iamashamed]

LOL! This is valid!<3 :D

[singingrain5]

I agree that I think Jon should at least recognize what his show means to a lot of people (or, as you said, address it without dancing around it), but I don't think this should put him under any obligation. I agree with you and some of the comments on that topic, I think that instead of focusing on Jon and demanding that he accept that he is considered a newsman, and to some people the best, instead of THAT we should be focusing on the MSM accepting that most people trust Jon Stewart, A COMEDIAN, above them. Accepting that, AND DOING SOMETHING TO CHANGE IT.

I'm wary of CNN. I only watch MSNBC occasionally. I distrust and avoid Fox with a passion. I trust and get most of my news from Jon Stewart..

Is it wrong? Yes.

Is it the effect Jon's show is supposed to have on people? No.

So why is no one doing anything about it?

[iamashamed]

I agree with your entire comment<3

And no, not an obligation, I would just love it if he adressed it honestly, maybe just to his fans.

And yeah, I try to keep up with the news before watching him and Stephen, but I definetly trust him more that the MSM, too.

And ugh, yes, someone SHOULD do something about!

[sarcasticsra]

because he can't have it both ways.

Except the fact of the matter is that, yeah, he really can, and as long as TDS is on, he probably will. One night he can do a hard-hitting interview and the next he can make fart jokes or ask softball questions, because it is a comedy show. He has no credibility or consistency to maintain. There is no standard he needs to reach except for maybe be funny and be honest. (The latter isn't even a necessity, but we've come to expect that from Jon because he's a decent guy.) He's not a journalist. He's a comedian. Do comedians often stumble upon truth? Absolutely. Is that their goal? No, it's to make people laugh.

He can do whatever he wants. The perception of the show is just that: the perception. He can't control what other people are thinking; all he can do is do his show the way he and his writers see fit.

Because that's the bottom line. It's their show. They'll do what makes sense to them.

[iamashamed]

I agree with you . I know that he can, I didn't mean literally, I just meant that he knows about his own impact and often goes out of his way to get his points across, because he cares. And when people see that and want to critisize something he has said, he can say that it's comedy, no matter how much he meant it. He is under no obligation to do anything because of it, yet he still does, which is why the perception of him being 'more than a comedian' is there. In the end of it, you are right, being a journalist is not his job, he just does a better job at acting like one than the real ones do.

[sarcasticsra]

See, what I don't get it is why there's the sense that he's being "more" than a comedian. Every so often, I get it, like with Jim Cramer, but for the most part, he's still firmly a comedian. Comedy, and satire especially, has always had a foundation of pointing out hypocrisy and absurdity in power. I just don't know when making incisive, funny points stopped being comedy, you know? "Just a comedian" is not a pejorative, IMO. There's a lot involved in being a comedian.

[iamashamed]

I think it's because he happens to do a better job pointing out these things, than many people in the media, so people trust him more. And that's not because of Jon, it's because the state of the media.

[alivemagdolene]

I'm not going to even read it since ONTD threads tend to chip away at any belief I have in the general intellect of humanity

[iamashamed]

Oh, I know that he can, I was just trying to play the devils advocate here, and try to see it from other people's point of view; I agree with you though.

[alivemagdolene]

Sorry, lady; rereading that comment I see I got mad ranty there. All this wank angries up the fangirl blood! Here is pretty Jon.

[iamashamed]

Oh, no, not at all! I totally agree<3 :) I value you guys's opinions.