The Daily Show and Colbert Report are, and continue to be, viable news sources for many americans. While based around comedy, the truth, and the way it’s reported, is usually comedic in itself. The Daily Show and Colbert Report don’t have a political spin, they take other organizations’ spin and turn it on their head, thereby giving the viewer a more objective viewpoint of how the news actually operates. The Glen Beck rally in August is a great example of how the Daily Show and Colbert Report can take a news organization and turn it on itself.
The Daily Show’s coverage of the Glen Beck rally was not only informative, but absolutely hilarious. During Jon Stewart’s “report” he first points out the pompous nature of Beck scheduling the rally on the same day as the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Then Stewart goes on to identify Beck’s arguments about government and progressives, while immediately after showing Beck’s hypocrisy in using the same tools he discredits on his own audience. Through making fun of Beck you get an honest representation of what Beck stands for and what the rally will represent; some holy bullshit conservative fear fest. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reported on the same event. While explaining detailed information on who and what will be funding the operation, there would still be some confusion if you hadn’t heard of or knew that much about Beck and his terror campaign. While Olbermann does a great job, the Daily Show gives you almost entirely clips of Beck’s shows, while Olbermann brings in commentators to talk about it. This gives even more credibility to Stewart’s reporting because you can’t disagree with clips from a show, they are factual, unlike the opinions of Olbermann and his guest. I don't think I really need to delve into how Fox, the company sponsoring Beck, reported on the event. They are obviously biased in the realest sense, and have not earned, in my opinion, the right for any more than this mention.
The Daily Show and Colbert Report are viable because they satirize the truth, something which is muddled and twisted by most major news organizations. Smolkin says in her article, “Stewart and his team often seem to steer closer to the truth than traditional journalists. The "Daily Show" satirizes spin, punctures pretense and belittles bombast.” This is the point, that because the Daily Show and Colbert Report are exposing spin, you can see through it and get to the heart of the issue, “He's sort of looking at the raw material and making a common-sense assessment of what it means.” The Daily Show and Colbert Report show us what is going on in politics and what is going on in media. It is a critical look at the way the government and news organizations function, whether that criticism comes in the form of satire or not.
What I find most interesting is the amount of viewers who are more informed that watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report. In her article Smolkin cites a Pew survey which, “found taht 54 percent of regular viewers of “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” scored in the high knowledge category” where only 35 percent of all people surveyed got a rating in the high knowledge category. A score almost 20 percent higher shows definitively that the substance people see in the Daily Show and Colbert Report exists.
Without a doubt the Daily Show and Colbert Report are viable news sources. They are revered by journalists and news organizations, winning awards and are recognized by the public. They have statistics and experts backing their credibility and worthiness as a news organization. Though not in the traditional sense, the Daily Show and Colbert Report’s satire is biting and gives people (especially youth) a view of what’s actually going on in politics. The Daily Show and Colbert Report continue to be a personal news source for me, and should be for more people.
Bib.
Smolkin, Rachel. "What the Mainstream Media Can Learn From Jon Stewart." AJR (June/July 2007).
The Daily Show Video - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/27/stewart-beck-rally-civil-rights_n_696758.html
The Keith Olbermann video - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/27/olbermann-keeps-up-mocker_n_697244.html
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