Wow! Just Wow! Did Jon Stewart nail it last night with his opening segment!
Jon began with a reminder that yesterday was the first anniversary of Osama Bin Laden's death and how it was one of those moments that united the country. Unfortunately, Jon points out, it looks like the new ad from President Obama's reelection campaign is once again tearing us apart. Why? Because Republicans are claiming that President Obama is politicizing an event for personal gain that all Americans applauded. Jon labors to understand:
So let me get this straight. Republicans. You're annoyed by the arrogance and braggadocio of a war-time President's political ad. You thinks he's divisively and unfairly belittling his opponents? I see. I have one question. ARE YOU ON CRACK?
Were you alive low these past ten years? It seems unseemly for the President to spike the football? Bush landed on a @#$$#%* aircraft carrier with a football stuffed cock-piece. He spiked the football before the game had even started.
Yes! Your Republican caterwauling and outrage (laughter and applause) ... Your caterwauling and outrage is the subject of a new segment:
You are aware that the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex gives us the ability to store and recall past events as they occurred, right?
He then goes on to provide the Republicans with visual aids to help them remember that not only does the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex give us the ability to recall past events, but there's this wonderful technology that allows us to store events and play them back for those with short memories. You just have to watch the video!
Is it any wonder that so many people rely on Jon Stewart for their news. This article is very timely in schooling journalists:
When Hub Brown's students first told him they loved "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and sometimes even relied on it for news, he was, as any responsible journalism professor would be, appalled.
Now he's a "Daily Show" convert.
"There are days when I watch 'The Daily Show,' and I kind of chuckle. There are days when I laugh out loud. There are days when I stand up and point to the TV and say, 'You're damn right!'" says Brown, chair of the communications department at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and an associate professor of broadcast journalism.
(snip)
The mainstream media can not, should not and never will be "The Daily Show." The major news of our time is grimly serious, and only real news organizations will provide the time, commitment and professionalism necessary to ferret out stories such as the Washington Post's exposé of neglected veterans at Walter Reed or the New York Times' disclosures of secret, warrantless wiretapping by the federal government.
But in the midst of a transition, our industry is flailing. Our credibility suffers mightily. The public thinks we're biased despite our reluctance to speak plainly. Our daily newspapers often seem stale. Perhaps "The Daily Show" can teach us little, but remind us of a lot: Don't underestimate your audience. Be relevant. And be bold.
Says Deggans: "In a lot of news organizations, it's the fourth quarter. It's fourth down, man. It's time to show a little pizzazz. It's time to reinvent what's going on, so people get engaged."
What the Mainstream Media Can Learn From Jon Stewart