The Hartford Courant has posted a brief interview with Jon in advance of his show at the Chevrolet Theater this weekend (call 203-265-1501 for ticket information). As usual, Jon has some things to say about candidates appearing on his show and about the idea that people watch his show for “news”.
From The Hartford Courant:
A Stand-Up Kind Of Guy
Jon Stewart Stays Topical As Ever In His Solo Comedy Show
By ROGER CATLIN
Courant TV Critic
June 9, 2008People are sometimes surprised when they see Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show” and occasional Oscars host, doing stand-up comedy.
“They are surprised how short I am,” Stewart says by phone from New York in advance of his trip to the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford Friday. “Also, they don’t realize I don’t wear makeup and am not lit properly. Their general expression seems to be, ‘Are you OK?’”
He is.
“This is how we roll at 45,” he says.
. . .
[T]here’s no shortage of news to riff on during this political year, which has found each of the remaining candidates appearing on his TV show. Think of it: The next president will have been on “The Daily Show.”
“I guess it is odd to think that,” Stewart says. “But maybe it is a right of passage, a Mirwais warrior circumcision ceremony they must pass through, the crucible-in-chief test.”
. . .
If it’s not odd to have future presidents opposite him at the desk, it is odd to see these continuing studies that determine that young people tend to get more of their news from sources like “The Daily Show.”
The latest comes from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which found in a study of 136 episodes from 2007 that the number of Washington-related pieces and those about U.S. foreign affairs and politics in general on “The Daily Show” amounted to 47 percent of the show’s airtime, which the report said was comparable “to many cable ‘news’ shows.”
“That’s just silly,” Stewart says. “That’s like saying a joke about Putin kissing a guy on the belly is the same as a report on the independence movement in the Ukraine.”
. . .
I continue to find the idea that people get their news solely from The Daily Show (and/or The Colbert Report) hard to swallow, as I agree with the show personnel who insist that the jokes really wouldn’t be funny if you didn’t already know the story. That said, I do think the people involved with these shows may be underestimating their role in getting people interested in the news, whether that’s in motivating people to read more about stories they hadn’t really considered, underscoring the practical importance of certain seemingly uninteresting topics, or even just familiarizing the audience with the faces of the people regularly named in news articles (certain congressmen, et al).
Ultimately, however, I’m watching these shows for the laughs. And it’s a treat to be able to get them from such an intelligent source.
I feel like Barbara Walters–I don’t remember seeing Obama on The Daily Show. I will have to search the comedycentral site tonight when I get home for the clip.
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I think he appeared via satellite rather than in person.
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Yeah, he appeared via satellite, as Hillary Clinton did. McCain’s been on there quite a few times, if I recall correctly.
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He’s been on more than once. The most recent appearance was via satellite, but he has been to the studio personally, as well.
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Yes, I remember him doing the phone jingle thing, but I was thinking he did an actual interview, sitting in the chair and all–that I haven’t seen.
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Obama’s been on twice by satellite, once in person. Clinton’s been on once by satellite, once in person. McCain’s been on four times by satellite, eight times in person (including once during the Republican National Convention in 2000, when he did a scripted scene with Jon rather than an actual interview).
At least, that’s how many came up when I searched on the site, and it seems about right to me.
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Regarding your thought about TDS/TCR getting people interested in the news, I agree completely (and can personally vouch for that). In fact, I actually had this conversation today :)
As someone about to go into teaching (albeit elementary school), it’d be interesting to find out if/how TDS and TCR could influence students to follow the news more closely. Just a thought :)
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Interesting. I found when he was on the Daily Show in person, and oddly enough I remembered everything he said, down to the phrasing, but not his face, not him. That’s bizarre.
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