In 'Daily Show' Role On 9/11 Bill, Echoes Of Murrow

Did the bill pledging federal funds for the health care of 9/11 responders become law in the waning hours of the 111th Congress only because a comedian took it up as a personal cause?

And does that make that comedian, Jon Stewart -- despite all his protestations that what he does has nothing to do with journalism -- the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow?

Read the whole story

Comments

[Sanity Or Nothing]

01:57 AM on 12/29/2010

Maybe not a journalist by any media standard, but at least he has the spine to be a CITIZEN willing to shine his small spotlight upon an abysmal status quo and give voice to reason.

[oldgrendel]

10:41 AM on 12/28/2010

John Stewart may not be a "Walter Cronkite" or an "Edward R. Murrow", but he is 1000 times more qualified to be called a journalist than any of the gutter feeders at FOX.

[exigent]

11:09 AM on 12/28/2010

"he is 1000 times more qualified to be called a journalist than any of the gutter feeders at FOX. "

To be fair; FOX and MSNBC. They're both guilty of leaning in their different directions and glossing over some 'facts' every now and then

[JanetR]

09:56 AM on 12/28/2010

Count me as a fan of Miss Ann Thrope. Brian Williams's excuses, as summarized and replied to in her post, aptly sum up the pathetic state of the MSM and the defensive posture they assume whenever their shortcomings are pointed out to them. I refuse to believe that an anchor of Brian Williams's stature has no say in the stories he covers. In short, he failed to cover the story, because a.) he did not see it as newsworthy, or b.) he knew it was newsworthy but did not want to be accused of a liberal bias. He would've had to point out that the bill was being held up by a threatened filfibuster by Republican senators. The MSM are looking more and more every day like pathetic cowards. Journalists like to say that they speak truth to power. In this instance, as in so many others, they failed. A comedian spoke truth to power while the so-called journalists covered Beatles songs on itunes. If Brian Williams feels embarrassed or ashamed, he should. The silver lining in this story is that fewer and fewer people, take the MSM seriously any more, choosing Jon Stewart as their most trustednews source. I would love to see HuffPo do a story on the state of MSM and what their claim to a stance of objective news coverage means, and why more and more people see it as BS.

[amamomofsons]

09:50 AM on 12/28/2010

John publicly spanked the main stream media and our right winged road block. Good for John and shame on those who did not have the guts or basic humanity to push this through years ago.

[Miss Ann Thrope]

04:19 AM on 12/28/2010

As Brian Williams was quoted in the article:

“Jon gets to decide the rules governing his own activism and the causes he supports, and how often he does it — and his audience gets to decide if they like the serious Jon as much as they do the satirical Jon.”

>> So shedding light on the fact that 9 years later, these brave men and women were not getting any medical support is "activism"?
>> Is Williams insinuating that this is not a "cause" he "supports"? Or is he actually admitting what most MSM news people will not: That what they do and don't report is censored and controlled by the corporations which own them?
>> And the final comment sounds like a thinly veiled "stick with the comedy, bub."

I'd love to call Mr Williams a name but I don't want to risk upsetting the moderators on this site. Let's just say he resembles a certain personal cleansing device used specifically by women.

[oldgrendel]

10:41 AM on 12/28/2010

Brian who?

[MsMassachusetts]

11:28 AM on 12/28/2010

Absolutely. It was what Williams wasn't saying that was telling. How the corporate overlords are gagging the "journalists" from reporting on the most important issues in this country because it doesn't fit in with their agenda.

[Arrech]

11:55 PM on 12/27/2010

The mainstream media has been taken over by Conservative ideology. A new Pew Research Center Survey studied the media exposure of politicians during the recent midterm elections. What they found was - out of the ten most covered candidates during the election season - the top 3 were all Republicans. And most surprising - Sarah Palin - who essentially has no job and was not running for one - received three times more coverage to spew her talking points than the sitting Vice President Joe Biden. Also - conservative commentators like Glenn Beck received considerably more media coverage than their more liberal counterparts like Keith Olbermann. These findings from the Pew Research Center are similar to a study by MediaMatters back in 2006 that found that Republican talking heads appeared on Sunday morning news shows 58% of the time compared to Democratic commentators appearing only 42% of the time. And finally - reporter Sebastian Jones - with "The Nation" magazine - uncovered at least 75 corporate lobbyists or PR officials that now appear on television political talk shows with no disclosure of what business interests they actually work for. Their job? To do the bidding of their corporate overlords under the disguise of "expert political commentary". So now can we finally put an end to the myth that there is a liberal bias in the mainstream media? And hopefully now start recognizing we need to create new media outlets that aren't beholden to corporate interests or the talking points of

[Arrech]

12:01 AM on 12/28/2010

their billionaire owners like Rupert Murdoch. Maybe then Americans will again hear the news they need to know.

[Allyatx]

12:53 AM on 12/28/2010

Arrech, your facts and figures are excellent but you know that won't happen. I got my fingers crossed though.

[jerkyfro]

11:55 PM on 12/27/2010

Jon Stewart SCHOOLED the media and the rightwingnuts. Hands down. Comparisons to Murrow

[Demarcus Jackson]

11:29 PM on 12/27/2010

I actually do think Jon Stewart's advocacy of this issue really helped, along with the tireless efforts of elected leaders and other lobbies.

[LouStool]

11:11 PM on 12/27/2010

Why don't I see on the news..quotes of Whitman saying "Air quality at ground zero is good?" I call it Bush lie #232

[trekbette]

10:23 PM on 12/27/2010

He reported an important story. There was nothing comedic about it. It was a valid news story that created an impact. I think he should get or at least be nominated for a Pulitzer.

[Tulka2]

10:30 PM on 12/27/2010

John? 

[Tulka2]

10:31 PM on 12/27/2010

Whooops.  Typo alert.  *Jon?*

[Tulka2]

08:55 PM on 12/27/2010

Yes, i think he did rescue the Responder's Bill.  God knows he needed to do something after his big old fail in D.C. 

[trekbette]

10:25 PM on 12/27/2010

I am curious... why do you consider the rally a fail?

[Tulka2]

10:29 PM on 12/27/2010

What was it about? 

[SpringDoc]

01:58 AM on 12/28/2010

When Stewart's rally was announced, the intention was that it would be a spoof on "rallies" in D.C. It achieved that. It start taking on more purpose, nearing the date of the rally, but originally it was to be a 'feel-good spoof'.
His decision to support the first-responders health legislation was timely and organized and was not intended to be comical.
I'ld say Jon got his point across on both efforts.

[Tulka2]

07:44 PM on 12/28/2010

The rally was gormless.  Bless him for actually taking a political stand in the case of first responders. 
 
Masks would certainly have been cheaper, eh?  My husband was so upset to see them going into the pit without masks in the first few weeks.  Don't forget it was Guliani who assured us all there was nothing dangerous in the air.  I want that on his tombstone. 

[yesIcan]

08:54 PM on 12/27/2010

Putting the truth out for there for all to see.. certainly didn't hurt. ;-)

[JFetch]

08:42 PM on 12/27/2010

The short answer is yes, Stewart helped the bill by dedicating a whole show to it. The better answer is that he showed how the media wasn't covering it and they were shamed into talking about it, which got it passed.

[Tulka2]

08:57 PM on 12/27/2010

My husband, in the building trades, stood there and screamed at the television as he saw workers going into the pit without masks.  God knows, masks would have been cheaper.  Guiliani was the one, do not forget, who assured everyone there was nothing to be afraid of in the dust. 

[Eyeheartfreedumb]

06:26 PM on 12/28/2010

With the particles that were in the air, simple masks wouldn't have done a thing.
That's why it's so criminal that the EPA (not the scientists, but the political appointee) told everyone the air was fine. It clearly wasn't to anyone who halfway knew what they were doing.

[Rachel O]

08:25 PM on 12/27/2010

This comedian will be remembered with the same fondness as Murrow, and his "journalist" critics will be remembered as clowns.

[Skunkman]

08:19 PM on 12/27/2010

Watch as the media arm of the Republican Party blatantly lies about Republican obstruction of the 9/11 health care bill, with the GOP lapdogs not only ignoring that all forty-two Senate Republicans blocked the bill less than two weeks ago, but saying that the "Democratically-controlled House killed it back in July," not mentioning that it was House Republicans who voted against it.



Good night HP posters

Mike