When comedians become better journalists than …uh….journalists…..(ie Jon Stewart and Al Franken)…we’re in a world of trouble. But thank God for these guys who have begun to see thatthey can help stem the tide of misinfomation and slant.
The most telling comment on that front may well have come from the unlikely duo of Jon Stewart and Ted Koppel, who shared a telecast during the Democratic convention. Koppel, by way of introducing his own viewers to Stewart, complained that “a lot of television viewers — more, quite frankly, than I’m comfortable with” — get their news from Stewart’s “Daily Show” on Comedy Central. Stewart, almost as if trying to reassure Koppel, responded that his fans were watching him not for news per se, but rather for a “comedic interpretation” of the news. Koppel was unmoved. People watch Stewart “to be informed,” Koppel insisted gloomily. “They actually think they’re coming closer to the truth with your show.”