To US liberals, he’s something of a hero; to conservatives he’d be a bête noire if they could stomach the use of a foreign label. Jon Stewart’s satirical The Daily Show has become a cultural institution in America (and something of a cult hit here) because of the host’s pin-sharp riffs against politicians and the media.
And what better, more deserving, target could there be than News International’s conservative polemical shock-jock channel, Fox News? Jon Stewart recently agreed to go toe-to-toe with Chris Wallace, one of its more intelligent interviewers.
The result is a vigorous and surprisingly nuanced 15-minute debate, which touches on issues just as relevant to the UK — especially the 24×7 news media’s destructive sensationalising of issues needing balance, regardless of whether their agenda is driven by liberals or conservatives. In the light of this week’s Milly Dowler case, or the recent character assasination of Christopher Jefferies, it’s more important than ever.
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One Comment
Thank you for posting this. I admire the work of Mr Stewart and tend to merely laugh at the biased ramblings of Fox News and its little sister over here called ‘Sky’
In fact i tend to laugh when I come across anything that has Rupert Murdoch’s fingerprints on it.
The most interesting point is the idea that satirical comedians are taken more seriously than politicians. I think this is often the case. With a comedian they are openly biased and their motive is to entertain. With a politician the agenda is to mislead you into voting for them.
It’s ok to lie or twist the truth in order to make someone laugh. It is not ok to lie or twist the truth to gain support for a political party.
So called news media outlets have a responsibility to present facts without any ideological bias in their reporting. The fact that Fox News has to constantly inform its viewers of its motto (“Fair and balanced”) is a sign of the fact that they are far from fair and not even slightly balanced.
Sadly, politics in this country has become the same. The very use of words such as “progressive” or even “liberal” when attached to policies is a sign of the fact the policies are far from progressive and not even slightly liberal.
In fact ,
I find myself laughing as much at the Orwellian use of language by the right wing News Media and our current coalition as I do when listening to Mr Stewart. That is until I realise that they are serious. Then, surprisingly, it is no longer funny.