OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire

Posted by: wfaulk

OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 15/10/2004 23:59

Jon Stewart recently appeared on CNN's Crossfire program. They expected him to be funny. He brought the hurt. You have to see this:

http://bitflood.org:8080/?file=791b2f5d95a54d1381b85f271b51f71e73964185
Posted by: ithoughti

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 00:44

i wanna see it but....

Quote:
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The page you requested was unavailable. The error code is listed below. In addition, the HTML file which has been configured as the page to be displayed when an error of this type was unavailable, with the error code 14 (Bad address). Please contact your administrator.
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Posted by: Daria

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 00:54

It was.... not what I expected, funny, but not in the way Jon usually is.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 00:58

See, I don't think he was intending to be funny at all. He had legitimate points and wanted to talk about them. They expected him to make with the funny, and when he started calling them on being irresponsible journalists, they just didn't know what to do beyond hurl invectives.

Or in other words, "not ha-ha funny".
Posted by: Daria

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 01:05

Sure, but the interplay was funny, intended or not.
Posted by: tonyc

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 01:11

Very funny, but it's a guilty funny, because I laugh, then I realize those guys really DO think Jon Stewart should be the one asking the "tough questions" while they do their political surrogate work.
Posted by: Daria

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 01:12

Quote:
Very funny, but it's a guilty funny, because I laugh, then I realize those guys really DO think Jon Stewart should be the one asking the "tough questions" while they do their political surrogate work.


Well, at least that he should be asking tough questions like they "do". It's not clear they think he's right and they don't.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 01:14

Well, the man's funny regardless of what he's talking about.
Posted by: ninti

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 04:22

Just thought I would throw some more links at this in case other people have problems with that one.

A Torrent:
http://bitflood.org:8080/?file=791b2f5d95a54d1381b85f271b51f71e73964185

And Ifilm:
http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2652831

Edited, changed both links yet again for kayakjazz. Maybe these will work.
Posted by: kayakjazz

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 04:48

The response I got this time was "your file may exist in the universe, but alas, not here." Clever, but unhelpful...what program do you recommend to read them?
Posted by: Mach

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 11:52

Thanks Bitt, that was great. Anyone read Jon Stewart's book yet?
Posted by: peter

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 13:03

Quote:
Jon Stewart recently appeared on CNN's Crossfire program.

Transcript here (thanks Slashdot).

I've no idea who any of those three people are, but anyone who thinks political discourse should be more about debate and less about theatre is OK with me. And I loved this exchange:

Quote:
STEWART: Now, this is theater. It's obvious. How old are you?
CARLSON: Thirty-five.
STEWART: And you wear a bow tie.
CARLSON: Yes, I do. I do.
STEWART: So this is theater.

Peter
Posted by: jimhogan

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 13:21

Bitt, I have watched that twice now. Melancholy funny, but I will watch it again. I am a latecomer to Jon Stewart (didn't/don't have cable).

Stewart showed incredible presence of mind and held on to the microphone in a 2-on-1 situation. And I know little about Chaplin or the history of comedy, but I feel like I was watching one of *the* great tragedian comics. What nuance. What a guy.

Thanks.
Posted by: drakino

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 15:22

If anyone here wants to get a feel for Jon Stewart on his own show, they offer a lot of streaming media on their web site. The new stuff is Windows Media, the older is Real.

I'm tempted to get the audiobook version of the book, as most people describe it as an commercial free audio only version of The Daily Show.

The problems with the media here in the US became aparent to me right around 9/11/01. After that point, I made an effort to get my news mostly from non US based sources, and so far I have been happy with relying on places like the BBC.
Posted by: mschrag

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 16:04

I bought the audio book off of itunes music store. It's pretty great. Read by Jon Stewart and has guest appearances by all The Daily Show folks.
Posted by: loren

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 16:18

I got the audio book off of audible and am about half way through it. Now that i've seen the book though i sorta wish i'd have bought it. There's some hilarious illustrations and "activities" in it. It'w worth the $ for the audiobook though. I love driving and laughing... makes you forget to be pissed at other drivers. =]
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 17:15

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.
Posted by: trs24

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 21:14

I'm surprised IMDB doesn't list Jon's stint as host of Remote Control on MTV. That's where I remember seeing him first. I have always been impressed with his intelligence and poise in interviews. He is a very well read man.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 22:27

I don't remember him being on Remote Control. I thought he was doing SAST then.
Posted by: bootsy

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 16/10/2004 23:48

Holy. Crap.

I've been a fan of Jon since the original "Jon Stewart Show" however many millions of years ago that aired. I catch the "Daily Show" when TiVo is so kind to grab it and love his comedy style. Sometimes I feel uneasy when his political beliefs become apparent while he's "interviewing" people with opposing views. But he's always at least congenial on the "Daily Show."

This was... just.. Wow. I always knew he was pretty quick on his feet and appreciate his self-depreciating sense of humor, but... Wow. The man has teeth and took a huge bite out of these "Crossfire" guys. I wish he hadn't lost it and called Bow-Tie boy a "dick", but I can't really blame him. I am always surprised by the importance of some of the guests that appear on the Daily Show, knowing it's a comedy show and that Jon is looking for a laugh. Can you blame the guy for appearing on a supposed serious news show and being treated like he should be a "clown"?

Wow... thanks for the link... I think I'm going to pick up the America book on Monday now.
Posted by: tonyc

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 00:33

Ken Ober was the original host of Remote Control, but after he left, Jon Stewart did take over for a while. I think that was after Kari Wurher had left, though, so I can't say I saw much of those shows.

The Jon Stewart Show was kinda funny when it was on MTV, but nothing compared to the genius of The Daily Show.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 00:53

Quote:
Can you blame the guy for appearing on a supposed serious news show and being treated like he should be a "clown"?

Really: "You're a lot funnier on your own show." "Dick" is the least of the names that guy should be called.
Posted by: fusto

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 13:54

Oh man, I wish I'd seen that.
Does Crossfire repeat?
Can I still get it with my Tivo?
I checked CNN.com but I couldnt find anywhere where it listed re-broadcasts.

Anybody know?
Posted by: oliver

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 14:44

There was a Bit Torrent link posted early on. Here it is again...

If you can't download with Bit Torrent, i have the 90mb version downloaded that i could send your way. Let me know
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 14:50

For some reason, I never really got into the Daily Show after John Stewert took over, so I never really bothered viewing this video. I admit, knowing he was a Kerry supporter and the fact that he was on CNN I suspected some spin coming out of his mouth. Boy was I wrong! The sad part is, the hosts of that show never got his message. Good thing the audience did.
Posted by: fusto

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 16:29

Yeah, I saw the links.
Unfortunately where I live I'm stuck with a 26.4kbps dial-up as my sole means of connection to the internet.
No downloads for me...
Posted by: mcomb

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 16:36

Quote:
Yeah, I saw the links.
Unfortunately where I live I'm stuck with a 26.4kbps dial-up as my sole means of connection to the internet.
No downloads for me...



There is a transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html so you can read what happened at least.

-Mike
Posted by: peter

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 17:06

Quote:
There is a transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html so you can read what happened at least.

The one bit I didn't get was the stuff about "after the debates, where do you go? Spin Alley." What was that about?

Peter
Posted by: mdavey

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 17/10/2004 17:19

Quote:
The one bit I didn't get was the stuff about "after the debates, where do you go? Spin Alley." What was that about?


Once the debate is finished, journalists go to a press room to write (or more commonly now, type) up their notes and submit it to their paper, newsroom, etc. Because journalists often need to sprinke a few quotes through their pieces (or need to interview a few experts "on-camera"), there are experts on-hand in these rooms to fulfil those needs.

More recently, these experts tend to be spin artists who ensure that the quotes are wholly on-message for their candidate or even consist only of explanations for why their candidate "won" the debate. This is why such spaces have become known as spin alley.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=what+is+spin+alley
Posted by: peter

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 07:33

Quote:
This is why such spaces have become known as spin alley.

Thanks -- I realise I could've asked Google myself, but often with these cultural things all you find is explanations in terms of other things you don't understand...

Peter
Posted by: mdavey

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 07:40

Quote:
I realise I could've asked Google myself


I didn't mean to infer that you were lazy - the link was purely to suggest that the first few articles might be a good place to start reading around the subject - if you felt so inclined - after you read my explanation.
Posted by: tonyc

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 11:53

Quote:
Thanks -- I realise I could've asked Google myself, but often with these cultural things all you find is explanations in terms of other things you don't understand...

Yeah, like the time I tried to use Google to increase my understanding of cricket.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 13:44

Wow. Just wow. That video was incredible. I also love how he turned the Crossfire audience against them.

I've always had a great amount of respect for Jon Stewart. He stands by his convictions while being very truthful and funny.

He was also recently the guest speaker at my college's graduation (not my class, but my girlfriend's). And it's not like he's a staunch supporter of my college.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 13:47

William and Mary? I read that transcript somewhere. It was great.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 14:05

Yeah. You should have seen his visit to the college the year before. It was the first time he'd been back and he talked to the students for about an hour and a half, then answered prescreened questions for about half an hour. That's where he really let loose about his experiences at the college. It was hilarious, though kind of scary to hear what it was like in the area while he was there.

*edit*
Here's the writeup. The song the choir sang before he spoke was...unusual. I don't remember much about it, but that's why he commented on it.
Posted by: g_attrill

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 18:06

Quote:
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.


You were probably thinking of the Howard vs Paxman "Did you threaten to overrule him?" interview. You can watch it online here - it's pure class! Skip to 3:45 for the good bit.

Gareth
Posted by: tfabris

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 18/10/2004 18:25

Okay. Yeah. That's the sort of thing that Jon Stewart was calling for. Wish we saw more of that on television in this country.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 20/10/2004 20:21

Anyone see Monday's "Daily Show"? He opened it with a few words about the Crossfire appearance.

A couple of quotes from memory...

"How was your weekend? Let's see... what did I do last friday?... Hmmm... Did some laundry, got my hair cut... called a guy a dick on national television..."


"I came on their show to tell them it blows, and they came back at me pretty hard. They told me I wasn't being funny. And I said, 'yeah, I'm not. But tomorrow I'll go back to being funny. And your show will still blow.'"
Posted by: Dignan

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 20/10/2004 23:35

Did you see the moment of zen (can't remember if it was that or the clip they usually play right after it)? It was the other hosts the next night talking about his appearance too. Pretty hilarious.
Posted by: mdavey

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 07:36

Video:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2653047

Unfortunately it is only the bit about Crossfire.
Posted by: DWallach

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 12:40

Even better, Stewart's guests on Tuesday and Wednesday nights both gave him crap for his Crossfire experience. Let's just hope that Stewart has the Crossfire bowtie dude as a guest on the Daily Show. That would be even better than Bill O'Reilly.
Posted by: tonyc

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 15:03

Quote:
That would be even better than Bill O'Reilly.

The O'Reilly interview was good, but he was being disingenuous to cater to the obviously liberal "stoned slacker" audience. He claimed he was an undecided, but when you watch his show, it's obvious he supports Bush. Not everything Bush has done, but he will NOT be voting for Kerry, and I think saying he was undecided was an instance of the same media=theater concept that Stewart talks about. He definitely does know the issues, and has informed (ish) opinions, but if you're a conservative, don't come on a liberal "fake news" show and pretend you're in the middle.

Yeah, Tucker on The Daily Show would be a hoot.
Posted by: drakino

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 18:13

Mised the moment of zen, might have to request the show on Poopli to get it. If Comedy Central starts the shwos too late, it gets cut off since the Replay has other things to record right after it is on.
Posted by: Daria

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 18:31

So when was O'Reilly on the Daily Show, anyway? I seem to have missed it.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: OMG: Jon Stewart on Crossfire - 21/10/2004 19:28

Comedy Central always seems to start that show late, which almost always means the show gets cut off immediately before the moment of zen, so I know what you mean. Fortunately I've got two tuners on my Tivo