Jon Stewart, Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” host, does a hilarious take on the past decade. But if there is anything new to come out of the wretched noughts, it’s the rise of “fake news” as a force in American politics.
Calling it fake news, however, does a disservice to Stewart.
The comedian has put a new spin on political humor, providing much needed interpretation of events that you can’t get on network news programs.
Sure he mostly pokes fun, but his commentaries and interviews often provide biting insights into current events.
At a time when politics has veered into the hyperbolic, with bombastic demagogues like Sarah Palin pandering to the nation’s fears, Stewart’s humor often exposes their hypocrisy and deflates their ridiculous claims.
By mid-decade Stewart was an established figure on the political scene, with a reputation for reaching young voters.
In 2004, John Kerry picked Stewart’s show for his first national TV interview to refute charges that he overstated his war experiences.
Since then “The Daily Show” has become a must stop for everyone from Barack Obama to John McCain. Both presidential candidates appeared on “The Daily Show.”
The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment all thrive because of the failure of the mainstream media, from The New York Times to the CBS Evening News, to play journalism’s traditional watchdog role.
If any media trend marked the 2000’s it was the unraveling of big media corporatism, where reporters were more interested in being insiders and media stars, and newspapers cared more about quarterly profits, than reporting the news.
Is it any wonder, the nation prefers “fake news.”
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c |
| Decade in Review – 2009 | |
