Yesterday was a notable birthday, today is too: the tenth anniversary of The Daily Show. I maintain that The Daily Show is the only televised news that is really worth watching. Indeed, it is the only kind I have felt the slightest impulse towards watching regularly. Whereas television news is usually a repetitive and less detailed summary of printed news, The Daily Show says something new.
Given how absurd American politics and world current events can be, it seems strangely appropriate to have it presented in a comedic form. A certain night in November 2004 might have been even more psychologically damaging, but for their special coverage. In any case, I salute Jon Stewart and I wish I had one of these shirts.
Now that is hot.
you really think The Daily Show is more worthwhile than real news?
so there is a generation gap…
Did you notice that this video shows:
Putin, Koizumi, Blair, Prodi, Chirac, Merkel, and Bush
G8?
Where’s Harper-McHarperson?
Viacom Puts the Entire Daily Show Archive Online
By Zonk on lewis-black-catches-it-for-a-segment-we-call-back-in-black
tburton writes “Viacom has put the entire eight year run of the Daily Show online. The content is available from the official Daily Show site, and features clip rating, tags, and numerous community features. The whole thing is support by relatively unobtrusive contextual ads. ‘Viacom’s decision to post its entire archive–while fighting YouTube in the courts–sets the scene for a battle between the established media players and their high profile entertainment brands against the user generated content sites, most notable YouTube. Also watching closely the Viacom experiment will be the telco IPTV industry which has seen the market place change rapidly as the quality of online video continues to improve, with at least one platform/site, Vimeo, already offering 1280X720 HD quality direct from the browser.'”
“Jon has chronicled the death of shame in politics and journalism,” says Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor who is a frequent Daily Show guest. “Many of us on this side of the journalism tracks often wish we were on Jon’s side. I envy his platform to shout from the mountaintop. He’s a necessary branch of government.”
“After September 11, Stewart began to employ his newfound anger, becoming a voice of comic sanity in the whirlwind of real and manufactured fear. Segments like “America Freaks Out” and “Mess O’Potamia” punctured the false-patriotic sanctimony being peddled by the Bush administration. Yet as appalled as Stewart was by the politicians, his greater scorn was increasingly aimed at the acquiescent and co-opted news media. “I assume there are bad actors in society,” Stewart says. “It’s inherent in politicians to be disingenuous. And a mining company wants to own the company store—as it is in SpongeBob. Mr. Krabs just wants to make more money. He’s not concerned with SpongeBob’s working conditions—although SpongeBob is putting in hours that are not humane, even for an invertebrate. I assume monkeys are gonna throw shit. I get angrier at the people who don’t go ‘Bad monkey!’ or who create distraction that allows it to continue unabated. The thing that shocked me the most when I first met reporters was the people who would step aside and say, ‘Boy, I wish I could say what you’re saying.’ You have a show! You are a network anchor! Whaddya mean you can’t say it?” Stewart says. “It’s one reason I admire Fox. They’re great broadcasters. Everything is pointed, purposeful. You follow story lines, you fall in love with characters: ‘Oh, that’s the woman who’s very afraid of Black Panthers! I can’t wait to see what happens next. Oh, look, it’s the ex-alcoholic man who believes that Woodrow Wilson continues to wreak havoc on this country! This is exciting!’ Even the Fox morning show, the way they’re able to present propaganda as though it’s merely innocent thoughts occurring to them: ‘What is this “czar”? I’m Googling, and you know what’s interesting about a czar? It’s a Russian oligarch! Don’t you think it’s weird that Obama has Russian oligarchs, and he’s a socialist?’ Whereas MSNBC will trace the word and say, ‘If you don’t understand that, you’re an idiot!’ The mistake they make is that somehow facts are more important than feelings.””
haha US politics was already absurd by 2006