Thursday, April 19, 2007

Jon Stewart

I think that it is hard to underestimate the value of Jon Stewart in the modern media climate. The questions he asks ensure that his audience gets important, difficult to digest information in an easy to understand format. Consider his exchage with former Iraqi Defense Minister Ali Allawi from last night.

The comparison of the events at Virginia Tech to daily life in Iraq is the exact analogy all Americans should use to properly assess the results the effects of the war.

Many media personalities are not permitted, or are unwilling, to ask a wide variety of questions, for fear of offending advertisers, for fear of losing access to sources or even for fear of losing their jobs. Whether their timidity is justified or not, the country and the world lose out on valuable information crucial to their everyday lives. Corruption is less likely to be exposed, I do believe that when the history of today is written and studied many generations from now, it will be noted and highlighted is that one of the few contexts in which honest questions about current events were able to be asked without fear of retribution was through the "comedy" of the Daily Show. It is an unfortunate state of affairs. How long will Jon Stewart be labeled "fake" news (and how long will he consider himself "fake") and which "real" reporters will have the courage to help him out?

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