John Stewart: softball interviewer

Hey shut up. MY name is Jon and I didn’t say he could take it.

If Jon Stewart asked hard questions, he would suddenly find that the pool of people willing to go on his show would dry up.

Do you seriously think Jon would totally grill Bush if he showed up? He had Wolfowitz on, right?

McCullough- Who are you asking that?

Frazier- Exactly. That is the problem with all the news shows. It’s the problem with American media.

Euri- But he doesn’t try to be funny with his high profile guests.

Anyway, my point is that Stewart had the means to ask Kerry hard questions and didn’t. Thus, while his complaining about other people asking Kerry softball questions is absolutely valid, Carlson’s attack on him was not without merit.

If you could do something and don’t, other people are not going to take kindly to the suggestion that they do that same thing themselves. Do as I say, not as I do.

Bwuh?

Why?

Look, if Stewart went after Regis and Kathy Lee for softballing Kerry, then your argument would make sense (he laughed at them, but he didn’t demand that they change). Stewart is in the same category as them: he’s an entertainer, not a journalist.

On Crossfire, Stewart essentially gave Carlson a choice: either ask the hard questions, or admit that Crossfire is no different from the WWF.

so when vp candidate john edwards was in runner magazine (or whatever jogging magazine the daily show showed) or when bush was on that fishing channel show, the hosts had to do hard hitting interviews on tax reform, iraq, and such?

Is Runner magazine bashing Time for softballing anyone?

Christ, it’s like you people can’t even read.

Well, if Time had an interview with Runner Magazine editor-in-chief where he said “I think political coverage in magazines is in a sad state and full of partisan hacks”, would you really criticise Runner Magazine for not doing Time’s job?

Yes. If Runner magazine has the means to do X, and chooses not to, it’s valid(if childish) for Time to be surly if Runner’s editor starts lecturing Time about responsibility to the American people because Time doesn’t do X.

Did you just call yourself childish, Ben?

Gallant- This is the second time in this thread I’ve used the world childish to describe Carlson. Learn to read.

So what you’re actually saying is that you’ve spent this entire thread digging in your heels and dogmatically defending Tucker Carlson’s right to childishly evade Jon Stewart’s entirely valid points about the American media? Keep up the good fight, champ.

Means has nothing to do with it. If Gallant needs to learn how to read, you need to learn how to think.

Yeah, exactly. There’s a difference between having the opportunity to do a thing and having the responsibility to do a thing. Which is why I think Carlson’s rebuttal to Stewart is utterly irrelevant, even if it’s technically true. Stewart is a softball interviewer, and not a skilled journalist. But I really don’t care, because he’s not billing himself as one, unlike Carlson.

Apparently none of us can never criticize anyone else ever again for not doing their job if we could theoretically go do it ourselves.

Jason, this is the website where, “when you create your own bestselling game, then you can complain,” is considered a valid argument. ;)

I’m tired of this bullshit.

We’ve said it here before, or something very close to it. Stewart is the most accurate journalist in the news today. People watch his show for the NEWS, and sometimes for the humor.

He might have initially THOUGHT he was doing a comedy show, kind of riffing on politics, on whatever the political waves happened to wash ashore. I don’t doubt that. I don’t doubt that was the concept for the show.

Maybe Stewart needs to check himself. Needs to reexamine. Because he’s been doing serious journalism (serious with respect to content, fuck the irrelevancy of attitude) for quite a while. There’s much more going on than humor in that place of business.

He’s using comedy as a COVER. As an excuse. As a hiding place. Bye bye sheet over Stewart’s head. Its spotlight time.

Like it or not, think of it one year ago or not, Stewart is front and center at the heart of American politics today. Is HE the last to know?

What kind of comedian, a simple comedian according to him, goes on a SERIOUS news show and berates the hosts for doing political theater? That’s right… comedians don’t do that. Politicians do.

I could care less about portrayals. Comedy Central can mouth whatever platitudes they favor. Stewart can claim or not claim whatever he wants. He’s being deceptive, or he’s being ignorant. Take your pick. Maybe some of both.

I’ve been holding Stewart to a HIGHER standard than I hold any other big media source to, since he’s the first big media place I look to for news. That’s perfectly reasonable in these quite unreasonable times.

Someone please slap some sense into Stewart, ASAP. Perhaps someone should go on his show and plead with him “John, we need your help. You’re hurting America, John. You don’t seem to understand you’re doing NEWS John, not innocent comedy. Please stop. Stop the ignorance, John.”

When are you going to realize its not how they BILL IT that matters, but what it is that matters?

His name is Jon.

Perhaps the reason you do that is because all other political pundits are, erm, jokes.

Jon does comedy. He says he does comedy. He is not beholden to anyone to do serious journalism. Serious journalist are. That he is accusing them of NOT doing serious journalism is the crux of his argument.

Can he do serious journalism? Probably. But I doubt the daily show is the format for him to do it in.

That he is accurate in his punditry is not so much journalistic skill more likely his skill at extrapolating the inherent stupidity of modern politics. If politician did less stupid things, Jon would have less funny jokes, and less accurate (in everyone else’s opinion) ‘journalism’

Someone please slap some sense into Stewart, ASAP. Perhaps someone should go on his show and plead with him “John, we need your help. You’re hurting America, John. You don’t seem to understand you’re doing NEWS John, not innocent comedy. Please stop. Stop the ignorance, John.”

I’m pretty sure most people who watch Daily show aren’t exactly ignorant of the real issues.

When are you going to realize its not how they BILL IT that matters, but what it is that matters?[/quote]

All I’m gonna say is wha?..

Are you that insulated from the mindset of the common man?