Phil Bronstein, the former San Francisco Chronicle editor who was attacked by a Komodo dragon while married to Sharon Stone, agrees with us: Jon Stewart coud use some new material. Says Phil: 'In a breakfast at the University of Denver, he's predictable. Yes, predictable! Right down to "the t-shirt, khaki pants and a healthy stubble" the Washington Post saw fit to note he was wearing. [...] What else did he say: Network newscasts are "obsolete." Cable TV news is a circus and Fox News is not "fair and balanced." Oh, and some journalists get too cozy with their subjects. [...] He also complains bitterly that Karl Rove is a TV analyst on cable but thinks James Carville is OK because he's not "passed off as a sage." Wait. Jon sees cable news as a circus but thinks only certain people can get away with wearing the red nose and big, floppy shoes?'
Jon Stewart is the Most Awesomest Guy in the world, everybody agrees. The Times hands out puff profiles on the guy — just 'cause. The kids love him and laugh on command, even though he sometimes traffics in Dad Humor, and that's the worst. But he's scored big points among viewers for skewering politicians, and among the media elite for skewering … the media elite. But as with all good things — Mad Men, memorializing Tim Russert, Michael Phelps — inevitably, there comes backlash. So far, Stewart's avoided it. But no longer.
It's time to admit you've grown tired of Stewart's tired routine. Splicing clips where politicians contradict themselves? Fine. But finding new examples of media screw ups every day is our job; Stewart's brand of "You Are Fools And Let Me Show You Why But Won't You Still Love Me?" has run its course. CONTINUED »
There was zero reason for book critic Michiko Kakutani to write up yet another Jon Stewart profile for the Times last week. She didn't have anything new to say, and Stewart didn't have anything new to promote. If anything, is was an exercise in Kakutani criticizing something other than the written word, and 900 others have done it previously, and better. [Photo: Slate]
With all of NBC News' execs in Beijing, David Gregory thought nobody would notice if he took off last Thursday's Race to the White House. His excuse, according to a well-placed insider: He didn't want anything to interfere with his appearance on The Daily Show. Staffers at NBC "found it incredibly bizarre" that Gregory, NBC News' chief White House correspondent, would skip out on his own show to make sure there weren't any distractions for his guest spot on Jon Stewart's show. We're told "nobody" at NBC or MSNBC has ever skipped their own show to appear on another network. (Possible, but we can't guarantee it.) And the option of pre-taping Race and then heading to Comedy Central's studio? Also not a good enough option — perhaps because Gregory thought "all of the execs are in Beijing and won't care" (not an exact quote). So, while Gregory skipped off to joke about Brett Favre with Stewart, Rachel Maddow filled in his seat at 30 Rock. And what'd Gregory ditch for? To get schooled by Stewart on the lack of "news" in "news reporting": CONTINUED »
Chris Matthews. Dan Rather. That daytime anchor on CNN. Who hasn't made the simple mistake of confusing the potential next leader of the free world and the man who wants to end said free world? No, we don't actually believe these newscasters think the two men are one in the same, but with just a single letter separating their names, the brain can play tricks on ya! So: A primer on how to tell them apart.
George Bush doesn't know how to speak. John McCain is old. Al Gore is stiff. Hillary Clinton is cold.
These are all character traits that allow the writers behind Leno, O'Brien, Letterman, Stewart, and Colbert to come up with bump-set-spike deliveries and amusing punchlines about the country's most high-profile politicos.
But Barack Obama? They've got nothing! He's neither too tall, nor too short. Not fat, nor anorexic. Not a baby, but not a geezer. He's got that elitist reputation, and that part about his biography where his father herds goats, but not enough to translate into regular late night fare.
We're in DEFCON 1 territory, people! CONTINUED »
In this clip from The Daily Show, Jon Stewart examines the news media’s case of Baracknophobia, described as the “irrational fear of hope.” He seems like he wants journalists to focus on the news instead of adding fuel to baseless internet smears. Requesting that these guys and gals actually do their jobs might, unfortunately, be too much to ask.
As a special bonus, check out Fox contributer Cal Thomas weighing in on “angry black women” after the jump.
Did you hear that yesterday was historic? It was a day to remember! For eternity!
For the first time in the nation's history, a female contender for president … found herself without a hope in the world. Also: A black guy moved forward to a 1:2 shot in leading the country, so that's sort of worth mentioning too.
If you had seen the coverage in recent weeks and months, one might've thought that Hillary Clinton had been fighting an uphill battle, against the media and those naysayers, who had already declared the nomination for Barack. Except, uh, that wasn't really the case, Hil. Roll tape! (Scroll to about the 4:00 mark.)
Might Jon Stewart not be the informative news anchor we've always believed him to be? Though he gets much credit for keeping the kiddies up to date with the news, a new Pew study says, perhaps, he shouldn't be getting such kudos. [Journalism.org] After all, if viewers weren't aware of the news before Stewart delivered the punchlines, how would they know what to laugh at? You know, besides the fact that everything on The Daily Show is funny? CONTINUED »
Have you heard about those fake news anchors on Comedy Central? Not only are Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert great for pushing books, but they're great for pushing the political dialogue further. Two important people think that way, so it's nearly almost certainly true. CONTINUED »
TV Week's annual popularity contest, the "10 Most Powerful," puts the industry's paycheck writers in handy listicle format, which makes it easier to know where to direct your The Man anger. Taking the No. 1 spot is NBC News president Steve Capus, whose most recent accomplishment was afflicting morning people with Kathie Lee Gifford. Obvious choices follow: Fox News chief Roger Ailes, ABC News prez David Westin, NBC's D.C. bureau chief Tim Russert, CNN Worldwide/U.S. president Jim Walton/Jon Klein, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, CBS News prez Sean McManus, and, at No. 9, television rep powerhouse N.S. Bienstock.
And taking the No. 10 spot are a trio of comedians: Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart. These folks made the cut for getting the other members on the list to … START DOING THEIR JOBS.
Tina Fey was likely just kidding around during a Reader's Digest interview when she supposedly slammed Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. Whereas she makes people laugh, Stewart makes them uncomfortable. And all that cheering and clapping when he delivers a one-liner about politics? That's "clapter," the Seth Meyers term for queuing up feigned audience excitement.
All that hating, even after Tina kicked Jon's ass in Celebrity Deathmatch.
Jim Cramer might have given questionable financial advice to his Mad Money viewers when it came to their investments in Bear Stearns. Some might say his suggestion – to keep your cash money in the bank, which went from $60 per share to $2 in a week – was not a smart move.
Since Eliot Spitzer's scandal broke Tuesday afternoon, The Daily Show's team didn't have much time to piece together a script for their host, or, more accurately, put together a news coverage video montage. But they did yesterday!
It's hard to tell who was less excited about Hillary Clinton appearing on The Daily Show last night: Jon Stewart, or the audience behind her.
Live via satellite, Clinton maneuvers her way around answering whether she would call for Obama to drop out if she had won 11 primary states in a row. Part II after the jump.
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