Quote:
Originally posted by Cowperson+Oct 16 2004, 08:30 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Cowperson @ Oct 16 2004, 08:30 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-JiriHrdina@Oct 16 2004, 07:01 AM
Interesting stuff. I think what really got Stewart going is when journalists try to suggest that he and his show have some sort of obligation similar to what they do. As Stewart has maintained for a long time - he's in the business of making people laugh.
Frankly I think he made a lot of great points.
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I think Stewart is right in saying he has a show that's in the business of making people laugh.
But Tucker Carlson was probably getting tough with him because polls demonstrate a fair chunk of the population actually prefers to get its news from sources like Stewart's and we've seen on this very board the assertion that Stewart asks the tough questions the mainstream media won't, implying the public is gifting Stewart with something more than a comedy platform.
You can clearly see from Stewart's Kerry interview he can lob softballs as well as anyone.
That's probably the reason Tucker Carlson was going after Stewart, to clear the air on that particular discrepancy, right or wrong, to define exactly how Stewart should be perceived.
Cowperson [/b][/quote]
Yes, one could argue there is a problem if Americans prefer to get their news from The Daily Show, but should Jon Stewart be held to blame for this? No. Rather, the mainstream media (including CNN) should take a hard look in the mirror and say "gee if people are getting their news from Comedy Central instead of us, maybe something's wrong with the way we are performing our jobs?". Instead they choose to point fingers at Jon Stewart and demand that he be held to the journalistic standards that they themselves are failing to reach. I think ultimately this is what ticks Stewart off.