Some serious fake-news: Jon Stewart ‘most-trusted’ newsman
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Do you like silly polls? Do you also like news with a punchline? If yes and yes, here’s your perfect storm story for the day: Jon Stewart has just replaced Walter Cronkite as America’s most-trusted newsman. So says a new survey from Time Magazine, anyway.
44% of those polled (a whopping 9409 people) said they trusted Stewart’s brand of news more than that of Katie Couric (7%), Charlie Gibson (19%), and Brian Williams (29%).
Is this a commentary on the woeful state of American journalism in the post-Cronkrite era? Are trust and a sense of humor now no longer mutually exclusive? Is this poll hopelessly flawed but good cocktail party conversation fodder? Can I get an amen?
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Roston and I had this very conversation via IM when Walter Cronkite died. Not sure if it’s an a-men, o-men or oy-men.
Wonder how Ted Koppel would have fared in that survey.
A,
Agreed. There’s a little bit of everything in that survey, which makes it both fascinating and highly unreliable. What is “real” news and how it should be delivered are evolving questions, I guess.
DK, who do you think is the most-trusted newsperson today?
Amen
Is the most-trusted, or the person I most trust?
Seems to me that we have lots of little pockets of trust. That the notion of trusting one person above all is somewhat outdated by the direction news has taken.
David I don’t think you can blame the “state of journalism” on the popularity of The Daily Show. Nor do I think the show’s popularity is a bad sign for the state of news coverage in this country but just the opposite. Back in the ice age when I went to college to the best of my knowledge there weren’t a lot my fellow students who actually watched the networks’ evening news shows, or for the matter read a newspaper. This is not a fair poll as it looks to compare apples to oranges. People don’t watch Stuart (or Colbert for that matter) to be informed, they watch to get a chuckle, the fact that are actually being informed about the issues of the day is just the icing on the cake.
it makes perfect sense. 100% logical. The American people have learned to subconsciously deflect the tidal wave of B.S. that is rammed down our throats on a daily basis since we we’re born. Namely, the conditioning to be a good consumer. Major network news outlets are just arms of big corporations and thus spew the same BS. Maybe they report on some ‘breaking’ news, like MJ’s death and the current body count in Iraq, but they’re never really willing to upset the turnip cart and ask the questions that NEED to be asked, such as why are AMERICAN CITIZENS making $5.50 an hour paying $5 bucks a gallon of gas so that investment bankers can pocket multimillion dollar bonuses?
‘Jokesters’, ‘hecklers’ can get away with it, it’s their job. e.g. has anyone ever called out any of the financial assholes on tv the way Steward SKEWERED Kramer several months ago? ’nuff said.
I think Andy gets it. There are no serious journalists in network news. Instead we have a bunch of corporate mouthpieces pitching red herring to the traumetized ordinary American. They’re likeable but not trustworthy. Stewart delivers the truth with a generous portion of intelligent humor so the listeners don’t go jump off the nearest cliff. The majority of Americans fall for the red herrings – religion and sexually charged topics of any kind. The rest, starved for the truth, turn to JS and hopefully they’ll turn to the Internet options such as true/slant.
In response to another comment. See in context »Agreed, the public flogging of Cramer was a huge boost. And maybe hosting the Oscars.
I think Longevity helps too, Jon Stewart has been hosting his show now for 10 years, he’s a familiar face and I don’t think he’s ever produced a bad segment. FWIW, I can’t think of any news anchor that I can trust more than Stewart.
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State of journalism? Stewart does cover some news stories just better because he has no self serving, meant to impress, not inform agenda. John admits he is entertainment…but so is news itself. He presents more balance that anyone, because he allows his subjects to be their true selves, which anyone with an IQ should laugh with him at. Don’t kid yourself about the Big J Variety. People have no real reason to trust those interested wearing their costume of journalism, at the expense of the news itself. Easy for John to win that. contest.