No Joke, The Daily Show is News
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Twenty-one percent of adults age 18-28 cite that the "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is a place where they regularly learn presidential campaign news, but is "The Daily Show" reliable?
A study by Indiana University found that "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is as accurate and newsworthy as traditional broadcast network newscasts, which includes ABC, CBS, and NBC.
Political jokes, including bashing Michele Bachmann for saying she is proud to be from the same city as a serial killer and joking over the meaning of Rick Santorum's name, present the news in an interesting way that keeps audiences engaged.
Although the first goal of "The Daily Show" is humor, there is still substance to the show. Stewart interviews substantial news makers such as the president of Pakistan and presidential candidates.
In 2002, news was made on the show by John Edwards announcing that he was going to run for president in 2004.
A second-by-second study of "The Daily Show" found that there is considerably more humor than substance in the show, but Stewart insists that he is a comedian, not a journalist.
It was noted that broadcast network news stories about the presidential elections are significantly shorter than are the stories featured on "The Daily Show" so the amount of substance per story is not different.
There is nothing wrong with being entertained while learning about current events. Without "The Daily Show" many people would not consume any news.
