And a Comic Shall Lead Them

"It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously."
- Oscar Wilde

I am inclined to wonder if there is a line somewhere in the Book of Revelation that proclaims "and a comic shall lead them." Jon Stewart has set new standards for both comedy and journalism on television. Oddly, he was originally supposed to just make us laugh on Comedy Central. He's done that, quite proficiently, but Stewart has also figured out that some jokes are sad as well as too important not to tell.

But he's not supposed to be doing the job of reporters.

TV journalists used to almost guarantee successful careers if they could go into a tape file and find a public figure on camera with a quote that contradicted something they had just said into another camera. Tape archives had made it possible for hypocrisy to succeed irony as the fuel of insightful journalism. The most famous of these was probably George H. W. B**h's (not writing that name anymore, ever) order to "Read my lips, no new taxes." And then he raised them because he had no choice and his promise was held up in his face for trying to do what was right for the country while bad for him politically.

The practice of juxtaposing sound bites or quotes all but disappeared in journalism because few reporters had the time or inclination to search for context. They just wanted the here and the now and one side shouting at the other as if life were a cable program. (Yeah, I know, it almost is.) Reporters used to brag when they accomplished such coups as finding the historic contradictory quote, and their colleagues were justifiably jealous.

Jon Stewart has brought back context to journalism by making people in our drive-by culture responsible for their words and even actions. Stewart has helped Jim Cramer of CNBC make that awkward transition from silly and self-involved to just pathetic. Cramer, who famously recommended purchasing Bear-Stearns stock prior to the firm's total collapse, is reading Mein Karl and using the strategy of attacking the messenger when the message is so devastating. On the Today Show, he tried to dismiss Stewart as an "entertainer" who runs a "variety show."

Jon Stewart, of course, is both of those things but he is also a cultural icon. His program is free to deploy approaches that mainstream journalists cannot because he labors in the vineyards of comedy. If a writer for the Wall Street Journal or even the Boston Globe had put together a piece deconstructing the fallibilities of Jim Cramer's advice they would have had great problems with publication. Lawyers would have been engaged and editors would have furrowed their brows and worried about being counter-attacked or whether CNBC's advertisers would have stayed away from the paper. Sadly, no editor or reporter would have even thought up the idea of doing an analysis of Cramer's nonsensical babblings. Stewart has no such constraints. Everything must serve the laugh. Stewart has become a kind of Murrow for the new millennium.

Nonetheless, reporters at the big TV networks and the major publications have no excuse. Minute by minute people like Jim Cramer are feeding crap into our culture and public perceptions and it has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with their egos. How is it that a comedian is the first person to hold accountable these cheerleaders who are promoting a team that has no chance to win and, in some cases, isn't even in the damned game?

Analysts doing the autopsy on newspaper reporting and the corpse of mainstream journalism are constantly lamenting the fact that so many young people and an increasing number of others are getting their news from Jon Stewart and Comedy Central. Where else is there left to look for thoughtful, analytical, and insightful analysis of the issues of our day? The yuks are just a bonus. Cable news shows can proclaim "no bias, no bull" all they want but every story is framed for a purpose, which is drama and conflict. The viewers and the readers aren't there without the dramatic tension. You might as well be watching Law and Order: Special News Unit.

Unfortunately for traditional journalism, the audience increasingly realizes that much of the material presented is manufactured controversy that requires no resolution. Stewart, though, gives us the laconic and wiseass view of the day's news and nothing he says seems contrived. Strangely, his entire broadcast is a contrivance and yet it remains the most enlightening in the spectrum of TV "news." The only thing worrisome about Stewart's ascension in American culture is that his schtick and acerbic wit might be a canary in our red, white, and blue coal mine. We've got a funny guy in charge of how we think.

Can that be good?

Also at http://www.moorethink.com

Comments

[Spartacus911]

This post was very thought provoking. It reminded me of an essay on Aristophanes by Robert Corrigan in 1965 in which he argued that all comedy is essentially conservative in that it relies on identifying some behaviour or other as silly, and that the silliness results from its difference from the audience's experience. This means that anything new or different will be subject to some ridicule. The Daily Show could then be considered conservative in that it shows how today's journalism doesn't stand up to the standards the audience has acquired in previous decades.

Kind of suggests that Stewart is not a liberal hack at all. ;)

[Ginnie20886]

One of the reasons that Jon's pieces about this financial meltdown are on target is not just because he's angry. He is also genuinely bewildered at the irresponsibility of the media who still doesn't get what went wrong.

Honestly, it's not that they missed this crisis; they ignored it because it didn't fit in to what they wanted to talk about. Journalists are supposed to be skeptical detectives. They took the word of those who had vested interests in the existing paradigm and perpetuated the spin. They added their own sense of urgency by constantly screaming about avoiding missed opportunities in the marketplace. Think about it: if an investment "tip" is on TV, you can bet you are on the wrong side of the profit curve.

They ignored facts or inconsistencies they did not like. Can you imagine a defense lawyer assuming that his client was innocent just because he said so, and subsequently ignored the facts of the case? This also happens to police when they have focused on making the facts fit their theory instead of the other way around (remember JonBenet Ramsey and Chandra Levy?).

So what can the average citizen do? Do your own research, ask questions, decide how much risk you are comfortable with, and use good judgment. Information is power, and it's out there. You may have to dig a bit harder, but you can do it. Think of it as the right kind of investment in your future.

[cmhmd]

Interestingly, Joe Scarborough claimed, when Jim cramer was on, that Stewart takes things out of context, makes a funny face and his audience laughs in pavlovian response.

Boy, does he have it backwards. Stewart is the one of the few (along with Olberman and Maddow) who actually contextualize the news, not the opposite. The reason he is funny and perspicacious is just as Moore says, he and his staff do the work and present the context of the latest shennanigans and make us see the absurdity night after night.

Cheers,

[arkansasgirl]

Jon Stewart is my hero. I know how uncomfortable it must be to speak truth to power (not that Jim Cramer is all that powerful, but the Wall Street and bank interests he represents are), but God knows we desperately need someone who has a national forum to do just that. The mainstream media is never going to do it.

I am so proud of Jon for stepping up and saying to Wall Street and the Mega Bankers what we, the unwitting 401k investors and having-to-pay-for their-greed taxpayers, are dying for someone to say: your greed screwed up the entire world-wide financial system and now we, the general public, the "losers", are the ones who have to suffer- and pay- for it. Thank you, Jon, from the bottom of my heart.

[Cloud7Raymaker]

I have to agree with other posters here, some of Jon's best works has been in taking on the big issues with satire. It's unfortunate that the business outlets in print and cable are so inept at doing actual hard interviews & reporting because it does make for great reading/watching and is also usefully informative.

Some kind of media reform is sorely needed in this country, what that would be exactly I cannot say. But certainly one would expect "News" outlets to do full & accurate reporting and not dump "this CEO is Awesome" propaganda reporting on the general public and call it news.

[lisakaz2]

Stewart's role is good if it wises up Americans. He is everything the court jester was and more. If only investigative journalists remembered how stories were important and how to take time to develop them, maybe papers wouldn't be going under like they are. Stewart is everything the msm info-tainment is not -- yet he is still more entertaining.

[Noland]

I was all with ya and your assessment of Jon's show but then you threw in an insult (conscious or not) at the audience by making it seem that if we watch and/or listen to what Jon has to say we, the viewers, are just as complacent as the journalist. Sorry to disappoint you but I for one consult more than one source before taking a position on most issues. I do believe most people who watch/follow Stewart's show do the same and I believe that is part of the reason for his popularity…his audience isn’t brain dead. We are informed and find it in our best interest to confirm his statements so we are not the ones with egg on our faces by simply agreeing with him without proof. Nonetheless, nice article.

[plooger]

Put more briefly, the show's not nearly as funny if you aren't already reasonably informed going in.

[bakerboy]

"We've got a funny guy in charge of how we think." Agreed, but you left out an adjective; "smart". Maybe we're not in as much trouble as you think.

[3fingerbrown]

Stewart deserves kudos, and he's been especially funny these past few weeks, but give props to the behind-the-scenes staff who do a miraculous job of digging through the archives and finding just the right clips for the occasion on such a short deadline.

[Imzadi]

Fabulous analysis - thank you!

[strugglingstudent]

This is a perfectly appropriate state of affairs, the court jester has always been the only one safe in criticizing the court (or the media in this case.) Our society has become mentally deficient and like rulers past we are mocked by a jester with laughter and tears.

[krm1255]

Is it any wonder newspapers are nearly dead and the cable news shows have to cut back? More and more people realize that they aren't reporting news anymore. So if you aren't reporting news, what do we need you for?

[marksgirl5]

As a woman of a certain age who grew up as a child of the 60's having the privilege of reading first hand THE WASHINGTON POST'S stories on Watergate and Nixon, watching the congressional hearings for Watergate live on PBS and knowing that I was seeing the world change before my eyes I can tell you most everything since then has been a disappointment when it comes to journalism whether it be in print or on T.V..
Jon Stewart is the one place I know I and my husband can get the important information of the day, hear from authors we might have missed, other points of view we may not agree with, spokesmen for causes where we learn much needed information, and always, always get to laugh out loud to end our day.
This man is not just a comedian, he is a commentator, a journalist, a politician and an eye on the world to make sure that the so called people in charge are being honest. He is doing for CNBC, what he did for political journalism the last 6 years, call them out and show them their mistakes up close and personal.
Jon Stewart speaks intelligently, gives us stories we want to know about, makes us laugh and that is why YES, IT CAN BE GREAT THAT A FUNNY GUY IS IN CHARGE OF WHAT WE THINK. As long as it is this funny guy.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

I, and my husband, agree with you completely. Nothing like getting a lighter side of the hell that has become our country.... and still go to sleep laughing.

[arkansasgirl]

My husband and I totally agree.

[ljfoor]

I really agree with your observations -- I also grew up back in that day and I remember the power of the press also during Vietnam, and the civil rights movement as well. And, I still mourn the passing of the Fairness Doctrine.
Thank You to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show staff. Not just for last night, but for every night.
I find it amazing that I watch a fake news show to get my real news. I find it amazing that the best news show on television is a fake news show. And, I find it amazing that the voice best questioning and confronting the everyday issues of our modern times is a fake news anchor.
But in the light of day, the talking heads, information gatekeepers, and journalism as a whole, still aren't getting it. Jon Stewart is NOT in charge of how we think -- Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the greek chorus, the audience point-of-view.
I applaud them, thank them, and laugh with them.

[deusvitae]

It is sad indeed when the Daily Show is about the only place that does investigative reporting, not just on politicians, but also on the media itself.

If the MSM is so worried about the younger generation getting its news from the Daily Show, why doesn't it start doing a better job of presenting the real news and not the sugarcoated fluff they pass off as news?

[Tyler-Durden]

because today's tv news does not have "reporters". they have "on camera personalities".

[emmasvoice]

I watch "The Daily Show" every day to get a true perspective on what's really in the news. And some things while, while depressing, I do laugh. I make my own decision about who I believe, comedy or not. Stewart wins at every turn. The guy is far more intelligent than those that would try to defame him. The attackers sound so pathetic and juvenile. It was also juvenile for the NBC affiliates to make an issue of it. I have less respect for CNBC and NBC than I had before. Jon Stewart's intelligence is obviously far superior to all the whiners.