Jon Stewart isn't, as he keeps reminding us, a journalist. But for better or worse he has become perhaps the nation's best-known and most cogent media critic. The foibles of journalism and journalists are almost nightly targets on Stewart's "The Daily Show," and because of this he has attracted a lot of attention and coverage from - you guessed it - journalists. Stewart's critiques of the media are often dead-on, sometimes overblown. But whether you agree with him or not, he's always thought-provoking.
Jon Stewart Blasts Sensationalism in the News Media, but is it Really So Bad?
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Is sensationalism in the news media a bad thing? "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart thinks so. In his recent appearance on "Fox News Sunday" Stewart charged that the news media is rife with sensationalism and that coverage of the Anthony Weiner scandal was an example of this. "The bias of the mainstream media is toward sensationalism, conflict and laziness," Stewart told anchor Chris Wallace. "The embarrassment is that I'm given credibility in this world because of the disappointment that the public has in what the news media does." But is sensationalism really so horrible? And do people really dislike it as much as Stewart seems to think?
Tired of Sensationalist News Coverage? There are Plenty of Alternatives
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My article and blogpost questioning Jon Stewart's claim that the news media are rife with sensationalism drew a lot of comments, mostly from people who disagreed with me and who, I suspect, are avid Stewart fans. There's nothing wrong with that (I like Stewart's show myself) but if you're sick of sensationalism I have a recommendation: Read a newspaper or a good news website. Listen to NPR. Watch the "CBS Evening News" or "PBS News Hour" or "BBC World News." In other words, be an informed news consumer, and choose to peruse the news outlets that you prefer. If that turns out to be the serious and sober New York Times, PBS or BBC, great. If the racy tabloids and Fox News are more your style, that's fine too.
Jon Stewart's Appearance on O'Reilly Factor Shows a Generational Divide
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My take on Jon Stewart's appearance this week on The O'Reilly Factor? Bill O'Reilly was a vigorous and generally good-natured inquisitor, but at the end of the night Stewart came off as funnier (which was to be expected) and more thoughtful. But the most striking thing about the encounter was the obvious generational divide between the two. O'Reilly was trying to be funny, but humor doesn't suit him; his jokes are musty and his delivery is overblown, and as smart as he is, he still ends up coming off like the loud uncle at the wedding reception who's being laughed at by the teens sneaking drinks at the bar.
In the Jon Stewart-Jim Cramer Bout, It's Stewart By a Knockout
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It was Jim Cramer vs. Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. The winner? Stewart by a knockout. In a show-long interview, Stewart delivered a one-two punch to the host of Mad Money and CNBC for failing to forecast the economic meltdown. "I understand that you want to make finance entertaining, but it's not a f---ing game," Stewart told Cramer. In a sober and virtually joke-free exchange, Stewart charged that instead of being a "powerful tool of illumination" on the side of the average investor, CNBC was essentially a PR mouthpiece for the companies it covered, and failed to report on the Wall Street shenanigans that helped produce the economic implosion.
In Wake of Jon Stewart's Attack, Others Rip Into CNBC
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The Daily Show's Jon Stewart led the charge last week when he skewered CNBC. Now other critics - including some business writers - are also ripping the financial network for engaging in Wall Street boosterism instead of alerting the public to the economic meltdown. To recap: Stewart blasted CNBC and reporter Rick Santelli, who caused a stir with his recent on-air tirade about the White House plan to save what he called "loser" homeowners from foreclosure. Stewart devoted an entire opening segment of his show to a populist evisceration of CNBC, playing embarrassing clips showing some of the network's marquee hosts, including Jim Cramer and Larry Kudlow, making rosy and woefully wrongheaded predictions leading up to Wall Street's implosion.
Jon Stewart Aims a Populist Broadside at the Wall St. Boosterism of CNBC
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In a segment that is now a big hit on the web, comedian Jon Stewart this week blasted the Wall Street cheerleading of CNBC and reporter Rick Santelli after Santelli was a no-show on Stewart's The Daily Show. Santelli had been scheduled to appear on The Daily Show to discuss his on-air tirade about the White House plan to save what he called "loser" homeowners from foreclosure. But in the wake of the flap over Santelli's remarks, CNBC pulled the plug on the interview. So Stewart pounced. He devoted his show's entire opening segment to a populist evisceration of Santelli and CNBC, and played a series of embarrassing clips showing some of the network's analysts making wildly optimistic (and just plain wrong) predictions leading up to the economic meltdown.
