Jon Stewart’s Monday-night Comments
I know he likes to disclaim the role, but the reality is that Jon Stewart has become the closest thing that a large swath of the country (including me) has to a de facto media father figure, along the lines of what news anchors like Walter Cronkite were to an earlier generation. The rise of bubble-head (and shouting-head) media spokesshirts in place of a previous generation of people who actually saw themselves as professionals with a professional code of ethics has left a vacuum, one that has been filled by the guy who famously observed that “I’m just a comedian… I follow puppets making prank phone calls.”
Anyway, here’s the Daily Show’s lead item from Monday night:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Arizona Shootings Reaction | ||||
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January 12th, 2011 at 7:27 am
I think Stewart is more akin to Will Rogers than Cronkite. Of course I like Stewart and don’t like Cronkite so my bias is probably showing. I blame Walter for much of the demise of journalism. He was the first to not only show a bias but to decide he had a duty to use his influence to actively change the course of public policy as a reporter, Rogers and Stewart, and O’Reilly for that matter understand they are giving their opinions, not reporting . I can see Rogers making a speech like Jon did in this video, a little more homey of course but just as heartfelt. I particularly liked the last 30 seconds or so where he said it helped him more than those listening.
To keep things in perspective I think the 24 hour news cycle is more to blame than any one individual, Cronkite included. But Barbara Eden is out of that bottle and there is nothing Major Nelson can do to get her back in.
January 12th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
I like Stewart as well. He (and his writers) have a nice spot in the catbird seat. They can attack and ridicule those who deserve it, including any detractors, but then put on their clown noses and say “Hey, we’re just comedians” when critiqued about their political intents.
He is best when he seizes on an issue and hammers people regardless of their political party.