The heart of the issue.
“The thing that makes ‘The Daily Show’ stick out is they sometimes seem to understand that better than the networks do.” He adds: “I think it’s valuable because when the emperor has no clothes, we get to say the emperor has no clothes. And we have to do that more often here… The truth itself doesn’t respect point of view. The truth is never balanced… We have to not give in to an atmosphere that’s become so partisan that we’re afraid of what we say every single time we say something.”
The huge problem is that without that disparaged emphasis on balance (which isn’t working anyway - the MSM is overwhelmingly liberal), there would be no check, no governing of the inherent personal biases of the reporters/analysts - and we already know they are hugely, disproportionately leftist.
For instance, the report speaks of the disastrous Iraq war - as if that is a given. If you argue all wars are disastrous -fine-, but how is Iraq more disastrous than Vietnam, WWII etc.
My ’solution’: half left/half right. Each calls it like they see it.
There is even more targeting of the right, and conservatives, and Republicans, on the Daily Show, than there is in the MSM.
We all “know” that “conservatives aren’t funny” which means that all comics can ridicule conservatives with impunity. As dugger points out, that makes for a dull show, after a while.
Because objective reality is not balanced, Dugger. If I say George Bush eats babies and you say George Bush cures cancer, the media should not report both as “sides” of an issue because neither claim is true. Cons have worked this so hard into the media they report both sides to an issue when there isn’t, and that errs on the side of conservatives.
The Daily Show is an admittedly liberal show, but as I’ve pointed out before, when Dems deserve they get it as good as Cons do (ask the Clintons, Al Gore, John Kerry or Howard Dean among others if the Daily Show lampooned them or not), and the show is better for it. Nobody wants to watch a hack show that exists only to prop up one side (see The Half Hour News Hour) because that violates the first law of comedy: be funny.
“That rotten John Stewart has been too mean to conservatives only because they have been running every aspect of government for six years!”
It has nothing to do with “conservatives not being funny” (though, in general, I think that is more true than not), it has to do with finding the truth where it lies. In a system entirely run by one party, it is kinda hard to pick on the people who control nothing. Which is fundamentally the same reason why conservatives aren’t funny, and why the Daily SHow trumps so much of MSM journalism (which is only “liberally biased” in the fevered imaginations of the Freeperati).
I think it was H.L. Mencken who said the purpose of journalism is to “comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.” Most right wing comics and journalists alike seem to turn this completely around, focusing on how best to tell those on the top that they’re great and they deserve what they have, and the schlubs at the bottom deserve to be where they are, the lazy slackers.
Further, as Paul Krugman has observed, the ridiculous obsession with “balance” has led far too many journos and pundits, when talking to 2 experts about the shape of the earth, one saying it’s round and the other flat, to title the story “Shape of the Earth: Opinions Differ”. Sorry, no, one opinion is objectively right and the other wrong, and it isn’t “bias” to say so.
we already know they are hugely, disproportionately leftist.
“we” being the entire population of the duggerverse which, as the last six years have shown, bears only a nodding acquaintance with what most of us humans call “reality”
“There is even more targeting of the right, and conservatives, and Republicans, on the Daily Show, than there is in the MSM.”
Because a) the news (note: not the same as “comedy programmes”) are terrified of displaying anything resembling Liberal Bias because of all the crybabies on the right, and b) the Republicans are the ones in charge, stupid.
Nimrod Gently: I am not stupid, and you are agreeing with me, aren’t you?
Satirical topical comedy programmes will always naturally target the current government above the opposition. You have to be particularly dense to translate that into the Daily Show being a far-left propaganda tool.
For instance, the report speaks of the disastrous Iraq war - as if that is a given.
Dugger, per usual, is spot on here. The Iraq War is objectively totally awesome, and no amount of [non-Fox] MSM bull-jive will ever change that. If only those MSMs (like the NYTimes and WaPo), who have always hated this awesome war, would just start reporting the good things happening over there (clap louder or leave the country!!)…
We all “know” that “conservatives aren’t funny” which means that all comics can ridicule conservatives with impunity. As dugger points out, that makes for a dull show, after a while.
Or it would be, were it not for you guys constantly giving us fresh material.
We all “know” that “conservatives aren’t funny”
To a degree, this is the essence of conservatism. When conservatism gravitates to its natural, stodgy small-c “conservative” state, they’re not funny and vaguely mockable. When conservatives try to be funny and hip, then they become a hilarious farce. Not so much “funny ha-ha” but more “falling-down-the-stairs funny.”
If they just tried to stay stodgy, then yeah, “making fun of the conservative square” would get dull after a while. But as Zython points out, conservatives seem to insist on producing new hilarious material that makes laughing and ridiculing conservatives funny in new and different ways day after day.
That and your politicians lie bald-faced to the camera contradicting exactly what you said the day before, giving the Daily Show great clips. So I’d stop that if I were you.
The best part about all of this is how merely pointing out the problems with conservative rule auto-magically makes you a liberal. So hollow is the conservative argument that they invariably demonize anyone who opposes them with their stock insults. Take note of how many moderate conservatives are eviscerated the second they oppose Bush. Why they must be closet liberals! Pathetically, the MSM has bought into this, which brings us to the modern concept of “balance” in the media. You simply can’t call a side, and 99% of the time we’re talking about cons, out on their b.s. without them falling back on the fabricated bias charges as fronted, yet again, by Dugger.
As the saying goes, apparently reality has a liberal bias.
Constantine makes a point — but it’s the wrong one…
What do you think the quotes are for?
I understand the liberal bias very well…
Liberal funny men — their numbers are legion — make fun of conservatives’ beliefs, their lifestyle, their appearance, all is fair game.
But when the occasional — excuse me, I mean extremely rare — joke about a liberal is told, it is never about their ideology. It is never about the disparity between their actions and their words.
No, indeed! It’s about their looks, or some superficial quality.
Conservatives who make fun of liberals are never appreciated by liberals as funny, because being a liberal is serious business.
They’re making the world a better place to live. Nothing funny about that.
They’re ending war and poverty, and making sure everyone gets free health care and higher wages. Nothing funny about that.
Like the Blues Brothers, they’re on a mission from God!
“it is never about their ideology’
Excellent point. In fact, the criticism of liberals, which would be portrayed as balance or fairness here, is often from the further left (they aren’t leftist enough0
And excuse me, but Congress is totally Dmeocratic. The purse sytrings of the country. Why isn’t the Daily Show all over Democrats like Murtha and Pelosi and Barney frank. Why?.
Dugger, please tell me under which set of criteria the Iraq War isn’t a disaster. It has cost about 20X what the architects thought it would cost, lasted probably 3 years beyond when they thought it would end and cost probably about 10X the military lives they thought it would require. To wit, we may only be half-way through paying and there is only the most remote chance of obtaining the objective of a liberal democracy.
By the way, I have never actually heard a reporter say the “disastrous Iraq war.” I think that is mostly the voices in your own head.
Boo hoo hoo, Frank. More projection.
zadura, First a quick question and then I’ll answer. Are all wars disasters?
Dugger, it doesn’t matter what I think about war. I am asking about accountability. On that score, I have no doubt that this particular war is too expensive in time, prestige, treasure and life. I call that a disaster. What do you call it?
A glorious struggle for our freedoms and our very way of life!!!111!!!
Well I call it a war. War is hell by definition. But a disastrous war must be significantly worse than other wars. This one ain’t - - if you know history.
P word. Get some!