Online Poll: Jon Stewart Is America's Most Trusted Newsman

Well, in a result that he will probably accept as downright apocalyptic for America, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart has been selected, in an online poll conducted by Time Magazine, as America's Most Trusted Newscaster, post-Cronkite. Matched up against Brian Williams, Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, Stewart prevailed with 44 percent of the vote. Now, if we're being honest, he probably managed to prevail as the winner precisely because he was the odd man out in a field of network news anchors. Nevertheless, I think Jim Cramer should feel free to SNACK ON THAT.

Brian Williams drew the second largest percentage of votes, with 29 percent. Gibson and Couric finished third and fourth, respectively, with 19 and 7 percent of the vote.

Time has helpfully broken out the results, state-by-state, so if you want to muse on some anomalous results, feel free. Brian Williams won Arizona, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, Florida, South Carolina, Indiana, Delaware and Vermont, and tied in Kentucky and Alaska. Charlie Gibson was big in Tennessee and Montana. Katie Couric pulled off the Mondalian feat of winning one state: Iowa.

Stewart finished no lower than second place in all states, except, curiously, Vermont.

To view the results, click here.

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Comments

[screamingpalm]

11:58 PM on 07/29/2009

As big a fan as I am of both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Amy Goodman is easily the most "Trustwort­hy Newscaster­". What a useless poll.

[Soniafaye]

04:27 PM on 07/29/2009

The court jesters are the only ones who can speak truth to power.

[Liberterna]

04:39 AM on 07/29/2009

The poll is accurate, i would trust Jon Stewart over any of those other "anchors" who have their highly paid journalist copy and paste Reuters and AP feeds into the teleprompt­er.

[Jonatan Cruz]

07:37 PM on 08/17/2009

Actually Reuters can be trusted sin ce is UK and Canadian based, it's when the brainless tv anchors that put their opinions in the news, or give some new more importance that another when it become biased.

[The Cam]

01:54 PM on 07/27/2009

Did anyone else have as comprehens­ive report as the Daily Show on the Iran elections? Were there any other mainstream American journalist­s in Iran? Has any other mainstream media ever tried to portray Iran as anything other than an extreme Muslim country? I don't buy this "it's sad when a comedian is the most trusted to give an objective view." That is what the greatest comedians do. George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce were all straight shooters shooting through the BS. Jon Stewart is no different. He helps to expose the lies told on other networks.

[Liberterna]

04:37 AM on 07/29/2009

well said, the daily show may be categorize­d as "comedy" but there is more true journalism in it than most other networks.

[Special K]

01:34 PM on 07/27/2009

From his position on the Daily Show Jon may have some credibilit­y, oddly enough, but what he does not have is accountabi­lity. At the end of the day, his raison d'etre is to entertain and he is not bound by a mission to report informatio­n objectivel­y or ethically.

Still, this was an online poll.

[The Cam]

02:01 PM on 07/27/2009

He has accountabi­lity to his audience. Viewers from all over the world. He's trying to give people what they want, the way they want it. He's giving them Truth in a way that does not take itself seriously.
Is it always objective? No, but it connects with a lot of people and helps connect them to some of the relevant topics of the day.

[Paul Berry]

01:53 PM on 07/26/2009

i actually find i agree. comedy has a great way of telling the truth if you use it right. 236.com had a great ability to do that as well but john stewart is the daily wrap i often find i want to veg out to

[alansky]

12:38 PM on 07/25/2009

Jon Stewart is terrific, but when a comedian is the most trusted newsman in America, anyone who doesn't think there's a serious problem should have their head examined.

[Bendra]

09:35 PM on 08/14/2009

and Jon Stewart has said this many times.

[Lavina]

11:59 AM on 07/25/2009

That is because Vermont's Congressio­nal representa­tives inform their constituen­ts with the truth.

[robbyJ]

02:05 PM on 07/25/2009

From Vermont. I love John Stewart. I don't know 1 thing Peter Welch has said or believes.

[DRTraveler]

11:42 AM on 07/25/2009

Jon has an amazing grasp on the ridiculous and helps us all see the world though his humor and, sometimes, insight. I enjoy watching his news shows so much I often watch them again and again! How many times can I say that about the other newscaster­s? Hmmmmm....­zero.

[John Horner]

11:25 AM on 07/25/2009

The world would be a lesser place without Jon Stewart. Brian Williams and the other network spokesmode­ls, on the other hand, are all completely replaceabl­e and largely interchang­eable.

[ivegotblisteronmefingers]

10:35 AM on 07/25/2009

one things for sure
no other interviewe­r stays on topic and on top of his subject more that stewart

[billw8017]

10:34 AM on 07/25/2009

Jon Stewart does mostly media review. Media review is a natural for comedy since it's only necessary to tell the truth to be funny.

[ebanks84]

10:31 AM on 07/25/2009

Ain't that the truth. He is absolutely the only one I would trust to even come close to the truth in news. All the rest are just "talking heads" on a leash!

[n222s]

09:49 AM on 07/25/2009

Jon Stewart dares to tell the truth and to evidence the truth with clips of real events and statements by people in power. Stewart's intelligen­ce and critical thinking skills by far outdistanc­e those who have lost or refuse to use their own thinking ability and who choose to be followers of a party line. More power to him.

[ghostdance]

09:45 AM on 07/25/2009

Jon Stewart is the antidote to TV for profit sensationa­lism news. He is the beginning of media consciousn­ess in the public as predicted in 1984 by Neil Postman in "Amusing Ourselves to Death." For Faux news people, that is an author, not a playwright­.

He is as necessary an invention as penicillin­.