There’s a lovely profile of Jon and his Daily Show success in this weekend’s New York Times. Have a look:
The Most Trusted Man in America?
Jon Stewart describes the morning meeting as “a gathering of curmudgeons expressing frustration and upset.”By MICHIKO KAKUTANI
Published: August 15, 2008IT’S been more than eight years since “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” made its first foray into presidential politics with the presciently named Indecision 2000, and the difference in the show’s approach to its coverage then and now provides a tongue-in-cheek measure of the show’s striking evolution.
. . .
[A]t a time when Fox, MSNBC and CNN routinely mix news and entertainment, larding their 24-hour schedules with bloviation fests and marathon coverage of sexual predators and dead celebrities, it’s been “The Daily Show” that has tenaciously tracked big, “super depressing” issues like the cherry-picking of prewar intelligence, the politicization of the Department of Justice and the efforts of the Bush White House to augment its executive power.
. . .
“Hopefully the process is to spot things that would be grist for the funny mill,” Mr. Stewart, 45, said. “In some respects, the heavier subjects are the ones that are most loaded with opportunity because they have the most — you know, the difference between potential and kinetic energy? — they have the most potential energy, so to delve into that gives you the largest combustion, the most interest. I don’t mean for the audience. I mean for us. Everyone here is working too hard to do stuff we don’t care about.”
. . .
Obviously, I only quoted some of the introductory language (and for a man who really needs no introduction), so you’re going to want to hit the link and read the full article. It’s very nicely done; kudos to The New York Times for covering one of our favorite people so well. If only every Saturday morning’s virtual newspaper contained such a treat!
What a wonderful article! Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I love the pizza analogy at the end — it really does accurately describe what The Daily Show and The Colbert Report do for all of us:
“In fact, Mr. Stewart regards comedy as a kind of catharsis machine, a therapeutic filter for grappling with upsetting issues. ‘What’s nice to us about the relentlessness of the show,’ he said, ‘is you know you’re going to get that release no matter what, every night, Monday through Thursday. Like pizza, it may not be the best pizza you’ve ever had, but it’s still pizza, man, and you get to have it every night.’ “
I disagree on point though…it is the best pizza I’ve ever had.
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That’s a great article! thank you for posting. I pretty much agree with everything Lisa said. :)
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Oh wow! This was such a good article.
I really liked the pizza analogy that Lisa mentioned. I also liked Stephen’s description: “’We often discuss satire — the sort of thing he does and to a certain extent I do — as distillery,’ Mr. Colbert continued. ‘You have an enormous amount of material, and you have to distill it to a syrup by the end of the day. So much of it is a hewing process, chipping away at things that aren’t the point or aren’t the story or aren’t the intention. Really it’s that last couple of drops you’re distilling that makes all the difference. It isn’t that hard to get a ton of corn into a gallon of sour mash, but to get that gallon of sour mash down to that one shot of pure whiskey takes patience’ as well as ‘discipline and focus.’”
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Yeah, Stephen’s part was great, too. I almost quoted it in my post, but I figured this one really spotlighted Jon and TDS, so I left Stephen’s segment as a treat for all the people being good and clicking the link. It is pretty great, huh? :)
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One of the best articles I have ever read about Jon/The Daily Show/Colbert. An incredible tribute to the spirit of political satire and why we need it. Read it, save it, and send it to your friends.
>>“Jon’s ability to consume and process information is invaluable,” said Mr. Colbert. He added that Mr. Stewart is “such a clear thinker” that he’s able to take “all these data points of spin and transparent falsehoods dished out in the form of political discourse” and “fish from that what is the true meaning, what are red herrings, false leads,” even as he performs the ambidextrous feat of “making jokes about it” at the same time.<<
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wow, that truly is an excellent article. it makes me feel very out-of-touch, because I did not start watching TDS regularly until a few months ago…during high school I just couldn’t give up a whole hour for CC news shows every night, and to me, TDS is only the second best program on television.
I feel kind of sad about the show, because when I watch the it’s always fun, and I laugh at the absurdity, but that article demonstrates there is a lot of pain behind it. I’ve always been so careful with my political views because I feel like there is too much news for me to process. But then I feel apathetic and irresponsible when I just dismiss everything as overwhelming. I really give Jon credit for, as Stephen said, consuming all of this information, and then making jokes. It’s really remarkable. All the writers too, and the people who make the graphics and otherwise interpret Jon’s voice. It is very impressive and it’s a great service to me and my generation, even though Jon seems to see it as much more personal therapy.
the more I read about TDS (like this article, or TDS and Philosophy) the more I admire what they do. It’s a lot harder to watch TDS than TCR, because the troubles of the world are right there under the thin transparent surface with Jon. I have to agree with the NYT headline, because I trust Jon’s motives way more than I trust any regular media figures. I know he’s not trying to con me into something short-sighted and ideological; he speaks too honestly about how he and the staff approach the world every day.
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I love TDS and this is a great article. That whole analogy about the sour mash and the whiskey is a very interesting way to describe how their creative process works, and I’m just puzzled as to how you could possibly do that on a daily basis.
and yeah, I really admire Jon Stewart for willingly processing so much information every day and really doing something to fight back (by making jokes). I dived headfirst into the political scene knowing I’d be able to vote this year, and I just got so horrified and sick of it that I’m really close to losing faith in the American political process. However, it’s so great that we have guys like Jon and Stephen that can help us at least laugh about it so we can feel just a little less frustrated at the end of the day.
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I remember seeing the first show after 9/11 when it aired. It was really powerful to watch. I loved the end when Jon said that the view from his apartment used to be the WTC, but afterwards, it was the Statue of Liberty. I remember him saying, “You can’t beat that.”
I also remember Indecision 2000, as I had stayed up until 3am on election night seeing if there was a clear winner. I should also add that this was my first presidential election, so that gave more meaning to the mess that was about to ensue, at least for me. How could I have gotten through that mess (and the seven-plus years to follow, and five months to go) without TDS, I have no idea.
I want to hug Jon after reading that article.
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AWWWWWWWWE that is an awesome photo of Jon! He looks so “awe shucks, ma’am, t’weren’t nuthin to bring you the best damn news show EVER every night.”
I love you, my friend.
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in this* article about the article–yeah I guess that’s what it is–it says “The spread includes vintage photos of Stewart with Stephen Colbert — and Steve Carell with John McCain in 1999.” are these “new”? I don’t have a copy of the paper myself.
*http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003839857
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