I’m a big supporter of “fake” news. Ever since I first watched SCTV and SNL’s Weekend Update as a wee lad, I’ve enjoyed a satirical angle on our news. Hell it beats the mainstream conservative media coverage we get day in and day out.
Right now we’re in the midst of a “fake” news renaissance. In print and online The Onion has extended well past its college origins and has spread into urban centers across the land through its books, websites and of course its weekly newspaper. Saturday Night Live still manages to bring off the occasionally entertaining newscast, especially since Tina Fey took over a few years back. Obviously the big two are Comedy Central’s hour of power, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The Daily Show in particular seems to have crossed over into a genre into itself.
The majority of people I know in the 18-35 demographic get their news from a combination of the web and The Daily Show. Thanks to the success of the show and their style I believe The Daily Show has become a news show that pretends to be a fake one.
Case in point, Jon Stewart joined the show as a comedian with a shaky resume as an actor and a mildly successful stint hosting a talk show on MTV. He has honed his entertaining skills but also has become an engaging interviewer and dare I say journalist. Stewart has managed the fine art of changing directions on a dime. He can hammer a guest for their support of the president one second and the next be giggling like a little school girl. The man also does more research then any other talking head I come across on TV. When J Stew says he’s read a guests book, I believe it.
Speaking of guests, in the last two years the quality of guest has increased ten fold. In the past the show would feature b-list actors 3 out of 4 nights a week, now we’ve seen a complete reverse and we are treated to authors, historians, Senators, and dignitaries the majority of nights. (The quality of the celebrities has also increased when they do appear.) The show does a great job of booking a wide range of thinkers on both the left and right and Stewart treats them all equally.
There is a negative to this evolution that The Daily Show has gone through and that lies in the fact that the more seriously its take the more it will be treated as a regular TV news program by politicians. I came to this sad realization when John McCain stopped by on Tuesday night. McCain has embraced the far right more and more in the last year obviously kissing up before primary season. The cherry on top of this ice cream Sunday is that he recently agreed to give the commencement address at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University (or as like to call it Errorism U). McCain has been a “friend” to The Daily Show for years. His past moderate views and refreshing honesty have endeared him to Stewart and much of the audience. While I’ll never say I thought seriously about voting for the man he was quickly becoming the Republican I’d be willing to live with if forced to. This run to the right either exposes McCain as a fraudulent moderate or, more likely, a political opportunist who will sell his soul to take that next big step. I think Stewart realized this and really hit the Senator with some tough questions. Now in the past I think McCain would’ve given a straight answer or at least made an attempt to. Instead we got 5 minutes of question avoidance mixed with numerous references to “the young people who watch this show.” As we approach mid-terms and inDecision 2008, I’m afraid The Daily Show may see more of this. Now that the professional idiots known as politicians are aware of the viewership and the impact of their performance on the show I believe many will choose to play it safe. After all, isn’t it better to disappoint a basic cable audience then to offer up a sound bite that Fox News will play into the ground.
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