Post #19: Network News vs. The Daily Show

I just want to start off this post by saying I love the Daily Show. I find Jon Stewart to be one of the funniest comedians out there. That said, I think that should be addressed, Jon Stewart is a political comedian...not a news anchor. He does not report the news, he jokes about it. One must keep in mind that although the program does mimic the network news, it is strictly a form of entertainment. After all, it does air on Comedy Central. This is the same station that plays South Park and Reno 911.

On this episode of the Daily Show, Jon addressed the Swine Flu Outbreak. This was also addressed hours before on ABC World News. Instead of giving details about the virus like the ABC did, Jon focused the coverage of "Patient Zero". Jon did not comment on how the boy's current health was. Instead, he talked about how cute and adorable he was. Jon then went on to discuss the name change of the virus. He talked about how the pork industry did not want them using the term Swine Flu because they feared it would detract people from buying their products. Then Jon joked about how they wanted it to be called the "Hybrid Flu" and then showed the Chrysler's decal.

Jon does not lie about what is going on in the world, he just adds a funny spin to it. I think that if you watch this type of programming along with the network news you would get more out of it. Let’s face it, some of the jokes that Jon tells can only be understood if you know what is going on in the world. Otherwise, you will have a hard time understanding them. Jon is also a very smart man. He is completely up-to-date on the news. He is a smart man and knows what he is talking about but it's our responsibility to understand what he is saying.