Quote:
I've no idea who any of those three people are

Oh. Sorry.

Jon Stewart, the guest, is the host (and producer, maybe?) of The Daily Show, a self-described "fake news" program. It centers mostly around making fun of news, pointing out absurdity by itself being absurd (some might call that satire). These days, it's dominated by politcal news. They do some other stuff, too, like short Letterman-style interviews with a variety of people from politicians to journalists to celebrities, but it's obviously a comedy show with a point.

The other two guys host a show on CNN called Crossfire. It's supposed to be a show where they bring two guests together with opposing viewpoints on a subject and have them debate. It ends up being a shouting match, and I think the hosts encourage that. When I watch it, which is seldom, I always expect to hear the line "Jane, you ignorant slut."

It's tragic that a comedian (and he is definitely a comedian and not a journalist or commentator -- look at his IMDb profile) can be more forthright in his journalistic integrity than two people who have a regular show on CNN. Or, for that matter, basically any other journalist in the US.

Whenever I watch BBC News, I'm always amazed at how the journalists there don't let their interviewees get away with anything. If he avoids the question, the journalist presses him on it. That absolutely never happens in the US. Journalists just end up being microphones for politicians. It's terribly disheartening, and that's what Stewart's talking about.

There's another great clip from The Daily Show that was aired on the (excellent) NPR (National Public Radio) interview program Fresh Air. Here's a transcription of the clip from the show (11:20 into the clip):

Stewart: I turn on the TV and they say he's the first most liberal senator -- John Kerry -- and John Edwards is the fourth most liberal senator.
Republican mouthpiece Henry Bonilla: Right
Stewart: Cause I watch that at home and I'm ... stupid. How do they figure that?
Bonilla: They -- they have -- we have votes and -- and bills that we sponsor --
Stewart: I'm not retarded. I mean how to they compile -- who --
Bonilla: They -- they list them. You take a list and --
Stewart: Who's they?
Bonilla: These groups that I told you about.
Stewart: But which one is the one that said they're the first and the fourth?
Bonilla: Well, you take the trial lawyers, or the -- uhh -- the people that follow the union votes and the people that follow the small business votes or the corporate votes and they all go "you're either with us a hundred percent of the time or zero percent of the time" and they kinda average them all together.
Stewart: ... Who?
Bonilla: These groups do!
Stewart: But which one -- how do you -- when you say first most liberal and fourth most liberal, what is the group and how is it -- 'cause I'm not --
Bonilla: No -- I hope I'm explaining it clearly --
Stewart: I don't think so.

In some ways, it's disheartening that a comedian is a better journalist than most journalists. (The Daily Show won a Peabody Award in 2000, which is essentially the Pulitzer Prize for electronic media.) In other ways, it's good that someone's trying to do the right thing inbetween cracking wise.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk