Election Night At The Daily Show: Ticket Holders Sidelined For VIPs

This post originally appeared at Back of the Room.

It was April of this year - 7 months ago - that while sitting at home in Toronto, I obtained my pair of tickets for election night at the Daily Show. Tickets there are distributed online through an automatic system, similar to how you would reserve a flight or hotel. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement.

I received my initial confirmation email. All good.

Fastforward to October. I received a second confirmation email, followed immediately by another email saying that confirmation was wrong and that I'd receive another.

Finally received my third confirmation email. All good.

On October 27, yet another email went out to all the ticketholders, saying that we MUST confirm our reservation AGAIN via email, or else we would not be allowed in. I re-confirmed.

This was a highly unusual email -- I've never received or known anyone else to receive anything like this prior to a taping. In retrospect, that's when the audience department knew they were in trouble. One week out from the event, they tried to create a reason to turn people away at the door.

The instructions we received told us to get in line no later than 8:30, but suggested a few hours before that. I arrived at 4:15, just to be extra safe. There were maybe 40 people in line in front of me. Home free.

Among those around me: my friend Mark, also from Toronto, who decided to make the trip for this. My British friend Tracey flew across the Atlantic JUST for the taping. I had friends from all over the US in the lineup -- one who used her rent money to pay for a train ticket to New York for it.

We all had one thing in common, and that's our answer to the question: "where do you want to be when the world changes?"

We wanted to be at the Daily Show. Nowhere else.

The hours ticked by slowly. The line grew and grew. We were offered water and popcorn by the show's interns. The glow of iPhones under the canopy indicated where the news would come from. When it trickled in, there were cheers, and even a few tears.

Finally, 9:00 came. Time to get ticketed and go into the building.

It was assumed that not all ticket holders would get in. The Daily Show always overtickets, and I was turned away once myself a few years ago. It happens.

But none of us expected what happened next.

Security came down the line, and informed everyone that if they weren't holding a laminated ticket, we weren't getting in.

The number of people in the lineup of hundreds who were given a ticket? 21.

21. Out of approximately 250.

The studio was VIP'd to the hilt.

Panic set in. I yelled. I screamed. I shook. I cried, sort of, but tears weren't coming out. I was numb inside.

"I understand" was the stock line thrown at us by security. No. No, you don't understand.

They offered us VIP tickets for a future taping. An insult.

I went in search of Teri and Jessica from the audience department, but not surprisingly they had retreated far into the building.

One poor Colbert staffer walked by right in the middle of this, and graciously offered his cell to me to call a friend on staff, who was 10 minutes away from one of the bigger tasks of his career and definitely not answering his phone. I cursed myself for not having all my contacts on the "inside" saved to my US cell's phonebook. But it was moments before they went live, and too late for this. Nobody would answer, and there likely wouldn't be room for extra bodies anyway.

Many of you by now are surely begging for context. Why does this matter so much to me? Why the drama?

My love for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert has nothing to do with politics. And at the core of it, very little to do with how hard they make me laugh each night.

No one individual performer has had more of an influence on my comedic sensibilities than Jon Stewart. Since 1994, I've consumed every ounce of his work. He always trusted his own voice, and had the strength to stand by his ideas of what was good even when it meant being fired. He worked his ass off to get better, from the early-morning sets at an empty Comedy Cellar to making the Daily Show what it is today. He takes none of his success for granted, and continues working hard every day. In his own words, "there is no 'making it'".

These were not my reasons for becoming a fan when I was 15. But I can't think of a better accidental role model to have had for the latter half of my life.

I could write an entire book on my emotional philosophies of comedy, and how incredible it is that human beings have an ability to even do this. Stephen Colbert became another unexpected idol when I witnessed him bring my own philosophies to life. After years of watching him on the Daily Show, I encountered his "real" self at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2005. I discovered the decency beneath his character and his natural desire to connect with people and create joy. It was overwhelming to witness, and it remains overwhelming to witness today when I have the opportunity to attend Report tapings. I am deeply touched by what he gives us every night.

The only thing greater than my admiration for them is their admiration for each other. It's palpable. There's a good reason why the tosses at the end of the show are so popular.

They are bonded by their work, and they are bonded by the joy they give each other. All I wanted - and what I gave up so much to do - was to witness that bond when the cameras weren't on them. A culmination of why I admire Jon and why I admire Stephen, played out infront of me, on the most historic night of my life.

Hundreds of us were denied this opportunity, because Doug Herzog's second cousin's babysitter's hairstylist thought it might be, like, totally kewl to be there too -- and the audience department thought people like that were more deserving.

It was absolutely preventable. It shouldn't have gone down like this.

On October 27, when that email went out to re-confirm everyone, they absolutely knew they were in trouble. And their solution? Do nothing.

That frantic phone call I made just before the show began was one of any number of calls I could have made months ago -- or a week ago. On October 27, I could have gone down my contact list and called in favours. I hate being the kind of person who asks for special treatment. I would indeed rather stand in line for 5 hours than ask to be hooked up. But you can believe I would have done it for this if I had thought it was necessary.

I was never given that opportunity. They knew what was going to happen, and they did nothing to communicate it.

Much of the production staff of the Colbert Report essentially had the night off. The Colbert studio is a 5 minute walk away. They could have planned to send us over there, flip the switch on the fiberoptic cable (which allows Jon and Stephen to film the toss), and shown us the raw feed. That could have been organized as late as day-of.

A simple solution. Again, they did nothing.

They know exactly how many fans attend tapings from out of town. They ask for your phone number when you reserve tickets. The area codes are not all 212. They know good and well we aren't all tourists who are there to kill time before going to see Gypsy on Broadway. At least 2 of us had email correspondence with the staff that outlined our travel plans for this night alone.

They knew what we had gone through to be there. And once again, they did nothing.

And how they could let so many people stand in line for so many hours, knowing what the outcome would be, is inexcusable.

I don't believe in being entitled to anything just because I'm a fan, or am a bigger fan than this person or that person.

But I am owed. Not the cost of my flight. Or the cost of my hotel. Or even the vacation days I took, which I could have used to visit my family. What I'm owed is the experience of witnessing history take place somewhere other than alone an empty bar on 11th Avenue, sucking on a can of Bud Light, feeling completely emotionally empty.

Because of the incompetence of others, I was robbed of an experience that should have been sublime, moving, and meaningful.

What was taken away from me cannot be remedied with a VIP ticket -- essentially a shorter wait in line NEXT time. At this point, I can't plan to have a next time. How do I stand outside under that awning again, without being reminded of what was done? How do I look at the heads of the audience department, knowing how negligent they were through this entire situation? I don't plan to ever go back.

Make no mistake, the audience department consciously chose this outcome. They know the ticketing system inside and out. This staff has been through election specials before. They can predict VIP demand. They saw this coming a mile (or a week) away. Shocking to me, because until Tuesday night I thought very highly of those ladies, so incredibly sweet to me at my first taping back in 2002 when I was just an excitable wee Jon fan elated to see him in the flesh. It's hard to reconcile that they could allow the show's biggest fans to gather in New York for this event, and treat them so poorly.

The only good news to come out of this is that Tracey managed to get inside. Somehow, one of the VIPs was kicked out, and a kind security guard who knew her story retrieved her from the sidewalk at the very last minute.

When she emerged from the studio, we embraced, and cried. Partly out sharing the joy of the outcome, and partly out of sharing the pain of those of us left in the cold.

We waited around so I could say "hi-you-won't-believe-what-happened" to my friends on staff. Most stayed inside the studio, though, until Obama spoke. The limo drivers stood around outside the exit, and one of them opened his doors and cranked his radio so we could hear the speech. Tracey and I stood with the drivers in the dark, as it began to rain, and listened to Barack Obama accept his victory. That moment will be etched in my memory for as long as I live.

We finished our hellos/goodbyes, had a spirited debate with a few bartenders over drinks, and visited an eerily quiet Times Square at 2 a.m. to swipe as much CNN swag as we could as it was being loaded back onto the trucks. At one point, even on a near-deserted street, a chant of O-ba-ma broke out. My cab driver back to the hotel could not have been happier. I wish I could have fully felt the joy of those moments.

Wednesday was challenging. Every person I know knew what I was supposed to be doing on election night. I'd been talking about it for 7 months. So I had to look at a plethora of "so?? how was it???" emails. I had to recover enough to try to absorb the TDS writers' panel this weekend as part of the NY Comedy Festival, and listen to them talk about putting that show together. I'm travelling across the border again on the 15th to see Jon do standup, but I don't know how I'm going to be able to enjoy it. For weeks to come, I have to explain that night to everyone I know.

As the days go by, I wait for an official response from the show. There has been none. It's unlikely Jon himself knew about the troubles in advance, but as the head of that show he has a responsibility to respond, and respond properly. I may have been a dedicated fan for a decade and a half, but I expect from him the same as I would expect of any CEO of any company that makes this big an error.

It must be said that despite everything, I do feel incredible happiness for America. As a country, you tick off the rest of the world an awful lot, but ultimately we all just want the best for you.

I hope you all were able to enjoy this historic moment surrounded by the people you love. Perhaps in 2012 I won't be prevented from doing exactly that.

This post originally appeared at Back of the Room.

Comments

[WRPrintz]

Part of me feels like "hey, it's just a TV show, move on". The other part of me feels "The audience did not need to be treated like this."- I can understand why you would be upset, even though it would not have upset me personally to the same degree, and think that writing of your experience seems to be a fairly constructive way to deal with the general lack of regard you were treated to, as it needed to be documented.

I hope you have a better experience in the future that lets this just be a story, and that the folks at the Daily Show learn from your suggestions and your plea for them to do better.

[mredder4]

"It's unlikely Jon himself knew about the troubles in advance, but as the head of that show he has a responsibility to respond, and respond properly."

Right on both counts.

[mikezenorini]

Hmm, i dont know. Maybe they were protecting Jon Stewart from a crazy fan who stalks him. Sounds kinda of creepy to me. You sure mentioned several time that you 'know people' on the staff. It sounds like your more upset you arent considered a VIP rather than the fact that your didnt get it.

Hey, at least you got a story out of it, even though it wasnt the story you wanted to tell, its still a story.

[ZSchaeff205]

What a surprise; liberal-biased program conducts poor planning and even worse execution. Liberal fan complains. Vote for a change!

[CocoaLaRue]

You mentioned in one of your replies you had two tickets to the show. What happened to your +1? Why were you in a bar by yourself?

[sharilyn]

@CocoaLaRue - she left in an attempt to get home in time to be with her family.

[srsly ridiculous]

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and in connection with advertising, recording and in all derivative works thereof publicizing, exhibiting and exploiting "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart;" The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Trustees of Comedy Central (in whole or in part) in any and all media in perpetuity throughout the universe. Participant hereby releases Producer; Central Productions LLC; Hello Doggie Inc.; Comedy Partners; The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Trustees of Comedy Central and each of their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, agents, successors, affiliates, assignees and licensees from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection with Participant's participation as a member of the audience and/or the foregoing use, including, without limitation any and all claims for invasion of privacy, infringement of Participant's right of publicity, defamation and any other personal and/or property rights. Participant understands that Producer is permitting Participant to serve as a member of the audience in reliance upon the foregoing permission and release. AS TICKET DISTRIBUTION MAY BE IN EXCESS OF STUDIO CAPACITY, ADMISSION IS NOT GUARANTEED. Producer/The Daily Show with Jon Stewart reserves the right to refuse or revoke entry at anytime.

[JimboSlice]

hmmm so apparently canucks can't read

[sharilyn]

@ srsly - You've repeated a detail I already oulined in my piece. And despite your proud research skills, you're missing the point completely (like so many others). The thought process of the staff was "we know these people aren't getting in, we could let them know that in advance, but it's much easier not to".

[Nixy]

I've read about this on several blogs and forums now, and what really gets to me is the number of people attacking the fans, in this case Sharilyn Johnson, for simply being critical as to how this was handled.
It's not about Sharilyn at all, it's about how ANY FAN was treated in this case. I don't care if she thinks she is someone important, she is entitled to the same level of respect as every fan - and THAT'S where the problem is.

How the fans, everyone in line, were treated.

And it's not even that I mind VIP guests getting in... I bet there were friends and family in the audience, I don't mind them getting a seat. In fact, I don't really care at all.

It's simply the fact that someone KNEW beforehand exactly how many tickets were booked and exactly how many of those fans would get in and did nothing. No emails, not even sending someone to tell those standing in queue for HOURS that they probably weren't gonna get in.

That, to me, is just being dismissive about the fans of the show.
And well, if those in charge don't want fans to come to the show, they should stop giving away tickets...

[Recursive]

Sharilyn, I have to wonder why you feel it necessary to defend yourself to EVERY person here who disagrees with you. You've made your case at length, people have a right to dispute it and to let their disagreements stand, no matter how ill-informed you think they are.

I've heard of others who have had problems with the Daily Show audience department at tapings--nothing nearly as dramatic as what you describe--yet no one else has turned this into an issue with Jon Stewart himself. It's quite possible that he has a hands-off policy when it comes to live audience affairs, and that he's delegated that responsibility to someone else and expects them to sort out the difficulties. That is completely his prerogative and to try to force him into some kind of personal mea culpa is, I think, hugely unreasonable. He has bigger worries, primarily creating a show four nights a week that satisfies a much larger audience than the 200 or so who come to the tapings.

I think you would be well-advised to find out who's really in charge of audience affairs--whether it's Teri or someone else--and demand an apology from them. That would be appropriate. If all else fails, you and the others slighted always have the option of never going to a taping, never seeing a JS performance, or never watching the Daily Show again. But I get the sense that for you, that's not an option.

[sharilyn]

Recursive - thank you for leaving a thoughtful comment (even though you don't support me, your argument is reasonable). I've been doing my best to make my intentions clear, among those who agree with me and those who don't, because I fear certain statements are falling through the cracks or being interpreted incorrectly.

You are absolutely right about Jon having bigger things to worry about. It would be unfair to assume he knew anything about Tuesday in advance. But he knows about it now. (The audience department does too, but they won't respond) He's not at fault, but someone in his position should take responsibility.

This landed in my inbox over the weekend: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10541965 The BBC apologized for something two of their presenters did. The executives who issued the apology weren't the ones who made the initial judgment error, but as heads of that organization they recognized the need to be accountable. I view this as exactly the same type of thing.

I definitely won't go to a taping again - that's an easy choice to make. I intended to still see Jon do standup this weekend, but a few hours ago I cancelled that trip. It's been unenjoyable to watch the show since, but I will continue. My opinion of the writing quality and the talent of the correspondents hasn't changed, and I won't turn all "omg TDS is EVIL" just to prove a point to myself.

[TechSgtChen]

Using the BBC response as an example, why aren't you asking for a personal apology from Comedy Central or Viacom? Jon answers to them, as do the staff of The Daily Show. If you want an apology from the top, go to the top.

[godhelpusall]

Big Star disses fans who made him a Big Star ---

unfortunately, nothing new ..................

[EdA]

For the people looking for a bone to pick with Ms Johnson, I think that most of you are missing the point.

Obviously, Ms Johnson is disappointed at not having been able to see the show, like the other couple of hundred people who had planned and expected to see it. But the big point that she is making is that the audience management people at The Daily Show were acting like some of the scummier Republicans in the current Administration and in business. (Although obviously several orders of magnitude different, think of the excuses made to explain why so many people in New Orleans were abandoned to suffer.) The Daily Show staff knew quite some time in advance that there was not going to be any way they could honor their commitments. Rather than let people know at that time, so that they could make other plans -- which might not have involved throwing away money and time on a wasted trip, they decided to do nothing. To offer people another chance to waste their time and waste their money is not much of a consolation.

[TechSgtChen]

Every single taping is handled the same way: They issue way more "standard" tickets than they have seats. They issue VIP tickets as they are requested. They have no idea how many VIPs will actually show up, or even how many "standard" ticket holders will show up. By overbooking, they guarantee a full audience. That's why they have the Terms and Conditions portion in the Ticket Request form, and why they have you check a box stating that you've read it and understand it. In that portion they state in all caps that a ticket is not a guarantee of admission, and that you may not get in, even with your ticket.

VIPs also tend to overbook themselves. They'll get tickets or reservations to multiple things the same night, then decide that afternoon where to go. The show has no control over that, which is another reason why they overbook.

Sherilyn does have a good idea as to how to handle this in the future: Use the feed to the Colbert Report studio to have people watch remotely. Although doing that isn't much different than going to Times Square and watching it live on the big screen there. Had they done that, she still wouldn't have been "at the show".

[st secular]

It is absolutely necessary that this article be seen by as many people as possible. You said it: It was absolutely preventable. It would be just as an awful experience if you hadn't named the show at all. It should not have happened, it was a disgrace to the fans, and you deserve at LEAST an apology from the audience department, if not Jon Stewart himself.

[sharilyn]

Thank you st_secular, but I think everyone there that night deserves an apology, not just me. While I travelled far and spent a lot of money, some of the sacrifices made by others were much greater in their actions than in their $ investments (meaning: I spent a lot, but I wasn't the one who had to skip a rent payment). And I only know a few of these stories. There were hundreds of people in the same boat.

[st secular]

True, I was including everyone in my 'you'.

[Moare]

I'm really sorry that that happened to you. I know sorry doesn't cut it at all, and I know I don't know the full extent of how awful you felt, but I'm sorry. I truly wish it would have ended as it should have, or at least with people accepting responsibility for that screw up.

[sharilyn]

Thank you, Moare. At this point, acceptance of responsibility is all any of us can ask for.

[leftbehind2000]

This is really crappy, and I feel badly for you. Truly.

That said, the one thing that probably bothered me most about this entire narrative was that you were frustrated about WHEN you found out. Had you known earlier, you'd have called your people in the know and been one of the elite who got in while those without such connections were left out in the cold.

This shows to me a total lack of understanding of what it is to truly be on the outside looking in. Every time.

But frankly I should not be surprised. After all, you are blogging with a byline on HuffPost while most of the rest of us hope to get our couple of lines of worthless comments in (or not) according to the whim of the moderators.

[EleventyBillionthBlog]

I'm sorry - but this is an inconvenience that should not have marred your enjoyment of such a transcendent moment. So you can't get in. While, yeah, it would tick me off, I think I'd be looking at the big picture, the absolute awesomeness of what could happen that night, and moved on to Times Square, so I could watch a virtual sea of humanity react to it.

The situation was what you made of it, ultimately, and it could've been spent all kinds of places and still have been meaningful.

Maybe it's just me, but this just sounds whiny. It's a TV show.

[OverIt]

IT IS just you! The show was accountable to its fans. Period.

[sharilyn]

@ EleventyBillion -- I can't expect everyone to react as deeply to this disappointment as me. Not everyone feels the same way about this show, and I'm not trying to convert anyone. But if you read the comments read on the original entry at my own blog - which I encourage you to do - you will see supportive comment after supportive comment. The same can be said for the comments made in other forums where this story has been picked up (and where nobody knows I'm reading). You calling me "whiny" is the very first comment I've read in the past 6 days to be anything other than supportive.

The fact remains that the show's biggest supporters, the ones who sacrificed their time and money, and travelled ridiculous distances, were treated like garbage in a way that was completely unwarranted and totally preventable. Yes, it's a tv show -- but it's also a business. It wouldn't matter if it was the gas company or McDonald's or the Girl Scouts. You don't treat people that way, and if you do, you make amends. So far, it's been completely failure on both counts.

[crookedlawyer]

How exactly was this treatment "garbage"? Isn't this how they treat all people for whom they don't have seats on account of overbooking (a possibility of which they make every person who requests tickets painfully aware)?

[TechSgtChen]

Of course the comments on your blog will be supportive, they're your friends. How do we know that you haven't deleted the negative comments?

They offered you VIP tickets to make amends. You declined them, that's your choice. That doesn't negate their attempt to make amends. To expect Jon to know exactly what's going on with the audience staff is unreasonable. The presidents of the Gas Company, McDonald's or the Girl Scouts are not directly aware of every action of each of their employees. They trust their staff to be able to handle situations appropriately, which is what the staff at The Daily Show did. They overbooked and offered VIP tickets for a future date to standard ticket holders who couldn't get in, which is standard practice in the industry.

It's your own fault you didn't use your "connections" to ensure you got in. If I had wanted to be there, and I knew multiple people on staff, you can be damned sure that I'd have contacted every one of them multiple times to ensure that I got in. Especially if I had friends traveling from another country to join me. The fact that you chose not to do so is on you, not Jon.

I agree that an apology is in order. But not from Jon or The Daily Show. You need to apologize to your friends for wasting their time & money, when you could have easily guaranteed entry with a phone call or email months ago.

[Nixy]

Awww, come on! Who wants to stand in queue for HOURS on a night like this? Of course she could have moved on, that's not the point. It's just not OK to not tell people they're not getting in. It's not about whether it's a TV-show or not, is it?