In response to Brian Stelter's piece on The Daily Show and Fox News, I though I'd attempt to further my theory that The Daily Show is about much more than political ideologies.
In 1969, literary critic Matthew Hodgart, wrote "The complexities of modern economic and social systems is now too great to be reduced to satiric formulae". When the modern incarnation of Comedy Central's Indecision election coverage was introduced, it consisted solely of The Daily Show's election coverage. In 2004, the program once again contributed to Indecision, guiding viewers through the election, and earning a Peabody award for television excellence along the way. The Indecision umbrella has grown to include The Colbert Report. The inevitable exit of George W. Bush presented new opportunities for both shows and the redundant nature of the campaigns forced reflection. Though their role as solely entertainment has been questioned before, the atmosphere of the 2008 Election, further complicated the constraints of their character.
Comedy Central's bastion of satirical news, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, officially launched its Indecision 2008 coverage, "Clustef@#k to the White House", on January 23, 2007. Throughout the episode, subtle hints are made to the effect this election would have on The Daily Show becoming first and foremost, a source of media criticism. After the show's opening greeting, Stewart states, "And with nearly a year until the first presidential primary, and already over 17 candidates already announcing, it sadly appears to be my solemn duty to spark up our coverage of Indecision 08". As Stewart runs through two minutes of quick, sentence-long jokes, summarizing the frontrunner candidates, he appears genuinely solemn about beginning the Indecision coverage. Stewart, and apparently his writers, seem authentically dispirited and bored with the idea of more political criticism. Since the show's fame was built on criticizing the absurdity of the Bush Administration, the fresh batch of faces is shadowed by the knowledge that as satirists, there role will be to deconstruct the person who is supposed to represent a change from the last eight years. After completing the expected political satire, Stewart says "And so there it is, 21 months before election night 08. Wow 24 Hour News Networks, thats a lot of airtime to fill." Then, correspondent Samantha Bee joins Stewart and displays a humorous misunderstanding of poll data, exemplifying a source of time-filling behavior. After Stewart says her 2004 prediction was wrong, Bee says "Yes I was and yet here I am on television again, introduced as a polling expert" concluding the segment and mocking the election speculation that was penetrating the 24 hour news broadcasts. Within these two segments, Stewart is visibly happier and more enthusiastic while mocking the media, than the political game. As the face of the show, Stewart's observable exhaustion represents a boredom and frustration shared by those involved with the show's production. Four months later, in an interview with Bill Moyers, Stewart said, "This has been six years you know, we're worn down. And I look forward to a new game to play, and something new". Though this was a response to the Democrats becoming the Senate majority, Stewart indicates the show had been searching for something new. At the time of the interview, changes in politics presented a new opportunity, but maintaining his role as a satirist, the change in comedy would eventually incarnate in increased media criticism.
Stewart continues to say "I mean, the only joy I've had in that time is having Stephen's show come on the air and sort of give us a different perspective. And you know, because it's made of kind of the same genetic material as our show, it feels like it's also freshened up our perspective and kind of completed our thought". He is referring to The Colbert Report which premiered in October 2005. The show satirizes cable news punditry, specifically "Papa Bear," Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor". Politically, the show introduces a new perspective because Colbert's eponymous character emulates the far-right ideology of O'Reilly. And structurally, it presents a fresh critique of a different portion of the news media, opinio-tainment. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly on September 30, 2008, Colbert said, "There's not more news now than there was when we were kids. There's the same amount from when it was just Cronkite. And the easiest way to fill it is to have someone's opinion on it. Then you have an opposite opinion, and then you have a mishmash of fact and opinion, and you leave it the least informed you can possibly be". Though it often appears that the main victim of criticism is right-wing ideology, Colbert's comment suggests it is actually more of a media satire. Midway through Indecision coverage, The Colbert Report formally announced its coverage, "Don't f%#k this up America" on September 11 2007. The naming of his show's election coverage, "Don't f%#k this up America" betrays an extreme arrogance that is a satire on the narcissistic pundits that provide him with inspiration. Yet he reveals no actual political preference when explaining how America will or won't "F%#k it up". Colbert said, "Now what do I mean by that. Maybe I mean that things are so great, that we shouldn't screw it up with change. Or maybe I mean that things are so horrible if we don't change by the midterm elections of 2010, we'll be drinking our own urine". Though his character is portrayed as a conservative, by not picking sides in this instance, the satirical elements of Colbert's Indecision coverage are versed more in the media side than the ideological humor he often relies on. This is especially significant, because it is the kickoff for his Indecision coverage. Where The Daily Show had to alter a role defined by the show's history, Colbert's announcement defines what direction the show will go. From a structural standpoint, The Colbert Report needed to prepare to focus more on media critique, because if Obama won, the ideology he is satirizing would no longer be in power. In which case the actual pundits he is basing his character on would be criticizing Obama for him, preventing effective satire.
As the election came to an end, the need to transition from political-centric to media-centric criticism was confirmed. In a September 30, 2008 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Stewart said "I was convinced an Obama/McCain campaign would be measurably different on almost all standards. And to watch it become Bush/Kerry, Bush/Gore, has been one of the most dissatisfying experiences". Once the campaigns fell into the same redundant bullshitting used in years past, it became clear that their content needed to change. The show is first and foremost, a source of profit for Comedy Central, and if the audience is as bored as Stewart with the content, the show will lose viewers. In response, "The Best F@#king News Team Ever" appears, putting a media centric critique on the Indecision coverage. A faux promo for the news team was introduced on July 31, 2008, in the final leg of Indecision coverage. As opposed to the launch of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report's Indecision coverage, with this launch, each parties candidate had now been established and the devolvement of the campaign referenced by Stewart above was in effect. The promo was a response to similar commercials produced by CNN, FOX and MSNBC. Each future segment retaining the moniker is an explicit satire of 24 hour cable news networks. Stewart prefaced the promo stating, "You're not just gonna be choosing a president, your choosing an election team that tells you who to choose for president". As a satire, the show is not only meant to expose illogic, it is also meant to reduce men to equality. With the team's hyperbolic title and Stewart's arrogant statement, they accomplish that, towards the new focus of their criticism.
Comedy Central's two satirical news programs, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, shifted from being viewed as a source of insightful political satire to respected source of media criticism. To commemorate the decade, Newsweek's 20/10 project recently ranked Jon Stewart as the "#2 New Thought Leader" of the decade. An essay by Brian Williams, lead anchor of NBC Nightly News and the most popular newsperson in America, accompanied the ranking. Discussing Stewart's influence, Williams states, "On occasion, when we’ve been on the cusp of doing something completely inane on NBC Nightly News, I will gently suggest to my colleagues that we simply courier the tape over to Jon’s office, to spare the Daily Show interns the time and trouble of logging our broadcast that night...there's been another step added to the end of the process: being held to account for our faults by a comedy show with a sharp eye and a sharp tongue. How did we live without it?"
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