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Six Degrees: Norfolk gearing up for Jon Stewart
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As we posted here earlier, Daily Show “monkey” Jon Stewart has a gig in Norfolk coming up, and he’s done an interview with the Daily Press in anticipation of it. It makes me sad that I can’t actually get out to see all the shows I post about here; that’s probably why I’m always so pleased to see new interviews from these guys when they hit the stand-up circuit. And even though Jon’s phoning this one in (literally), it’s great that he crams so much substance into it.
Jon Stewart coming to Norfolk Oct. 16
By Prue Salasky
8:44 a.m. EDT, October 9, 2009. . .
Why now and why Chrysler Hall?
“I wanted to get beat up by a Navy man … I thought of going to a shipyard,” he says, before conceding that he was looking for somewhere he could get to quickly. He’s quick to give his Virginia cred, immediately mentioning he’s a William and Mary graduate, class of ‘84. He’s also familiar with Chrysler Hall, site of a U2 concert he attended in 1982 while a student in Williamsburg. “I’m going to perform a U2 tribute,” he decides on the spot, and promises that the whole show will be laden with references to the Old Dominion. Advised that fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld has done shows at Chrysler Hall, he deadpans, “All the New York Jews get together to talk about Norfolk.”
. . .
Hope someone out there gets a chance to see him, either at Norfolk or the shows he has coming up at Washington, D.C.’s GW University — he does a fabulous stand-up show.
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Stuff Journalists Like rates Jon Stewart #45
Posted by: | CommentsThis homage to the famous “Stuff White People Like” mentions Jon Stewart (and Stephen Colbert) in a most amusing light. While they do not attempt to conduct the “Jon v. Stephen” battle that so many other bloggers feel the need to engage in, they do touch on it towards the end.
Image from Times.com
Ask any respected journalists who their news anchor idols are and you’ll get reputable names like Cronkite, Murrow, Jennings, Koppel. Well, at least publicly. But ask any journalist who their favorite anchor is after a beer or two and you’re likely to hear one name. Jon Stewart.
…
While journalists typically try their hardest to avoid saying something stupid, inaccurate or idiotic but
ifwhen they do, they set their TiVos in hopes of catching their slip on one of the Daily Show’s news reels. While journalists’ adoration for Stewart is obvious, the opposite is even more so. Without journalists’ bumbles, mistakes and penchant for wanting to be Tasered, Stewart’s nightly 30 minutes would be filled with fart jokes and impressions of George Bush (not that that’s necessary a bad thing). Journalists are the straight man, the set up, and Jon Stewart is the punch line.On every journalist’s TiVo is bound to be episodes of 60 Minutes, 30 Rock and of course, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Stewart is one thing most journalists can agree on. The only thing they might argue over is who they like more – Stewart or his counterpart Stephen Colbert. Friendships, jobs and teeth have been lost over that battle.
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Six Degrees: Jon Stewart at Hamilton College
Posted by: | CommentsWe’d like to thank Truth, webmaster of ColbertPics.com, for this EXCLUSIVE review
Photos used by permission; photographer – Rocza
The Sacerdote Great Names at Hamilton College is an endowed speaker series that brings, well, great names like Al Gore, Nelson Mandela, and Margaret Thatcher to this tiny liberal arts college. None of these speakers quite excited students and alumni quite as much as Jon Stewart. When I read on No Fact Zone that he was coming, I quickly checked the alumni site to see whether there would be decent alumni seating–and there was, for those who reserved a place at a pre-performance reception. Sweet.
The college officially calls it a “speech” or “lecture,” but it was really a standup performance. In any case, Hamilton is a small school, and the performance was held their biggest venue. The number I’ve heard is 5,000 for the entire Field House, which sounds about right. 1,000 of the seats were for members of the public, who started lining up three or four hours before the performance. The rest were reserved for current students, alumni, and local groups who had reserved seats, such as the Town of Kirkland Democrats or (this is important) a large group from nearby Colgate University, a fellow isolated and expensive liberal arts college.
The start time was 7:30, and they opened the doors to the public at 6:30. As more bodies filled the building, it became hot and miserable. On the screens on either side of the stage, the Saturday Night Live presidential special was inexplicably playing (what, they couldn’t get the rights to show the Indecision 2004 DVD or something?). It was too loud to even hold a conversation in there, and I played a game on my iPod while my companion, K., people-watched. Around 7:00, I was engrossed in a game of Vortex when she tapped me on the shoulder.
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Six Degrees: Jon Stewart profiled in ‘Moment’
Posted by: | CommentsFriend of the blog Rachel Sklar contributed to an extensive article on Jon Stewart in the November/December edition of Moment (“Jewish politics, culture, religion”), containing some interesting stories about Jon’s history, etc.:
Meet Jonathan Stuart Liebowitz (aka) Jon Stewart
The wildly zeitgeisty Daily Show host
By Jeremy Gillick and Nonna Gorilovskaya
On January 11, 1999, a nervous 37-year-old comedian who could have passed for a college student settled into a host’s chair that was too high, wearing a gray suit that looked too large. “Honestly, I feel like this is my bar mitzvah,” he told actor Michael J. Fox, the guest sitting opposite him. “I’ve never worn something like this, and I have a rash like you wouldn’t believe.”
The rookie was Jon Stewart, and he was making his debut as the anchorman of Comedy Central’s two-year-old The Daily Show. It was not his dream job: That one had gone to his predecessor Craig Kilborn, who had taken his frat-boy act to CBS’ Late Late Show—one of several gigs for which Stewart had been passed over.
Stewart then proceeded to dole out The Daily Show’s usual sophomoric fare: That night, it was the engagement announcement of cartoon characters Popeye and Olive Oyl (complete with mandatory wedding night joke). The show’s celebrity correspondent filed an interview with the aging actors who played munchkins in The Wizard of Oz—“dwarf porn” and “dwarf tossing” were among the topics. But even on day one, the best part of the show was Stewart’s commentary on the headlines, then consumed by President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. “The important issue facing the U.S. Senate is how can it take a pointless, tawdry trial whose outcome has already been decided and make it last for six hilarious, humiliating months,” he intoned.
. . .
I’m not sure why, but I think my favorite tidbit of info from this piece might have been in learning about the “Liebo award”, still given annually to one of William and Mary’s soccer players!
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Behind the scenes with ‘The Daily Show’ at the DNC
Posted by: | CommentsThe Colbert Report got the spotlight during its shows in Philly, so it should come as no surprise that Jon Stewart gets the lion’s share of the attention now that The Daily Show is on the road for the conventions. Here’s a nice piece from THE USA Today:
Behind the convention’s ‘Daily’ grind with Jon Stewart
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY
DENVER — Forget Rock the Vote. Inside the Pepsi Center this week, the true rock stars are the correspondents of The Daily Show, besieged by politicos and press, posing for pictures and being filmed by fans as they film their fake news reports — or try to, anyway.
“If ever you’re going to get recognized and adulation, it’s going to be at the Democratic National Convention,” says Larry Wilmore, the “senior black correspondent” of Comedy Central’s satirical news team.
. . .
Seriously, y’all, even if you don’t have time to read the article (which you should), you should at least check out the photo gallery. There are some really great photos of Jon and the staff, plus some fun shots of the correspondents standing in front of their respective green screens during the taping of last night’s show.
Major tip of the hat to shamskygirl for the links!
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Six Degrees: Jon Stewart appearing at University of Buffalo
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Heads up, boys and girls! Our favorite “opening act” for Stephen Colbert has been scheduled for the University of Buffalo’s Distinguished Speaker series this year.
From the Buffalo News:
Jon Stewart highlights UB Speaker Series
Updated: 08/05/08 4:13 PMJon Stewart, the popular host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” highlights a high-profile lineup for the University at Buffalo’s upcoming Distinguished Speaker Series.
. . .
UB announced today that, in addition to the [Karl] Rove-[John] Edwards debate, the series would feature: Stewart; Khaled Hosseini, author of “The Kite Runner”; Bill Nye, the “Science Guy”; Democratic political consultant and commentator Donna Brazile; and Anna Quindlen, the Newsweek columnist.
. . .
Stewart, who was chosen by UB students for a speaking slot, will appear Nov. 15.
Considering that Stephen spoke there earlier this year, I wonder if he’ll be accusing Jon of riding his coattails with this scheduled engagement.
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Six Degrees: Jon Stewart talks to ‘The Hartford Courant’
Posted by: | CommentsThe 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.
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About that question on whether ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ is “news” …
Posted by: | CommentsBroadcasting & 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.
. . .
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