Broadcasting & Cable is reporting on a new study that the Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted analyzing The Daily Show‘s content. Bottom line? The Daily Show is not *news*, exactly, but it *is* something significantly more than mere comedy. In fact, the show’s percentage of “news” content isn’t far off of what can be found on many cable news shows.
From Broadcasting & Cable (internal links omitted):
PEJ: The Daily Show Borders on News Show
Project for Excellence in Journalism: Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Blurs the Line Between Comedy, News
By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 5/8/2008 10:58:00 AM
Jon Stewart has long maintained that his Daily Show is not a news program, but the Project for Excellence in Journalism isn’t so sure.
. . .
Among the study’s findings: Washington-related pieces, foreign affairs and politics accounted for almost one-half (47%) of the show’s content. “In that regard, by the numbers, The Daily Show closely resembles in its topic agenda the news menu of many cable ‘news’ shows,” the study concluded.
It also called the show’s use of video “quite documentary … culling through archives to show official hypocrisy, abuse of language and spin.”
. . .
As for the show’s popularity, the PEJ found that when spinoff The Colbert Report was factored in, Comedy Central’s satirical political duo was regularly watched by 16% of Americans, two percentage points higher than PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
MediaChannel.org also reported on this story here. Those interested can read the PEJ’s analysis here: JOURNALISM, SATIRE OR JUST LAUGHS? “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Examined.
Speaking of Jon Stewart, he’s set for another round of stand-up gigs, as we noted here earlier. He’s given a few interviews that are worth mentioning, heading into those gigs.
Here’s one from Creative Loafing (h/t TWoP’s shamskygirl). It’s short, but he talks about the strike, balancing the comedy and the satire, and the interview with Chris Matthews.
The other, lengthier interview is from Nashville Scene:
Daily Dose
America’s reluctant anchorman talks about Al Gore, the Jewish media conspiracy and his upcoming Ryman appearance
by Jack Silverman. . .
Scene: So do you really hate Tucker Carlson, or just bow ties?
Stewart: Barely know him. It’s amazing—it’s been set up as the Hatfields and McCoys, as though it’s this longstanding thing. Met the guy once, didn’t have enough to eat before I went on the show, hit ’em all pretty hard and then never really saw him again. Can’t lie and say I was a fan, but it certainly wasn’t personal.
Scene: So you have nothing against bow ties.
Stewart: Look—do I like seeing them on people under, let’s say, 80? Probably not. Feels a little bit like a monocle…unless you’re Mr. Peanut.
Scene: Besides Tucker, has anyone else not really gotten that the show was a parody?
Stewart: Oh, they all do. I think they believe that because we comment on social events and political events, somehow we believe ourselves to be a part of that. And we don’t. We’re not trying to get anybody, we’re not trying to accomplish our agenda, we’re trying to do an entertaining show. If the criticism of us is, “I don’t really find your show entertaining or funny,” that’s a valid thing to feel and say, and I know a lot of people feel that way. But to suggest that somehow we have failed our responsibility to the public discourse by not exercising the same journalistic standards that we demand of CNN, then you’re a little lost up your own a$$ at that point.
. . .
“Comedy Central’s satirical political duo was regularly watched by 16% of Americans, two percentage points higher than PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”
WOW! That’s got to give PBS and CC something to think about! Impressive numbers.
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I am going to see Jon Stewart live tomorrow night in Nashville — and I am more excited about THAT than I was about conducting the Tennessee Fiddle Orchestra Monday night.
I am thinking about bringing a towel to sit on in case I get really excited during the show.
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Are you the conductor for TFO during Spring 2008? Conducting string instrumentation in Tennessee — that’s fantastic; congratulations!
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I hate these “Is the Daily Show/Jon Stewart news”-articles.
Of course Jon says his show isn’t a news show. He’s can’t. The moment he claims that The Daily Show is a news show, he takes on a great deal of responsibility, responsibility which he doesn’t want.
News shows have different standards than comedy shows. Comedy show just have to make us laugh – Jon could tell fart jokes and show clips of old ladies slipping on ice, if he wanted.
News shows have to be objective and fair and informative and if they aren’t they are criticized for it. I don’t think Jon wants or needs that.
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It’s true that Jon will always say that TDS isn’t news (and he certainly knows the difference in journalistic standards), but I think the analysis the PJE did is fascinating. I see it as less about whether The Daily Show is news than it is about the content of what *does* pass for news nowadays.
Yes, The Daily Show is comedic. That doesn’t mean it has to be dumb or that it can’t be based on facts; to the contrary, I think the show is at its best when it makes intelligent use of factual/verifiable material. I also think the Pew Research Center does a better job looking at these types of questions than most other sources do. In short, I enjoyed it.
Anyhow, it’s just an article, so you can always ignore it as you see fit. :)
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I feel that I draw more from half an hour of TDS than from half an hour of regular news where they just keep repeating themselves (at least on the 24-hour news networks).
I might even argue that I learn more in Jon’s five minutes with an author!
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It’s more entertaining(and more profound) to see that a “comedy show” can report things better than a “news shows.”
As King Lear’s daughter Regan said, “Jesters do oft prove prophets.” In Shakepeare, as in life, the Fools are most insightful.
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Good reference! You are well-versed!
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Most of the “Is The Daily Show News?” articles out there are pretty hollow, but I found myself genuinely fascinated with the PEJ study. It didn’t go into empty opinion-mongering, which usually leads fans like us to roll our eyes at these non-it-getters. Instead, the PEJ article goes into hard numbers and more-or-less objectively breaks down the content of The Daily Show and comparing them with that of real news.
While not a news show, I think Jon Stewart himself said it best when he said TDS functioned much like an “editorial cartoon.” In that sense, while it’s not journalism, it’s still informative and provides us insight into current events.
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I thought Jon’s comparison of this seemingly never-ending Democratic primary fiasco to The Apprentice was spot on. I wasn’t able to really put a good analogy on that until I just read it…nice!
Personally, I really think what they do over at The Daily Show is important, in that they really teaches you to question the information you’re given. For a very long time, I got used to accepting the information I received from “authority” figures as the truth. Never having really followed politics that closely until the last few years (yes, quite sad), I really sort of suspended my own disbelief and accepted all information I received on a daily basis to be the unadulterated truth. However, since I began watching The Daily Show, it really taught me how to see through all the spin, to judge our leaders more critically, and question their words and their actions, rather than blindly accept them as fact. I’ve been able to see my own world more clearly and through new eyes perhaps more so than before in my life.
And that’s what The Daily Show means to me. *curtsy* : )
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