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submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Daily Show host blasts media for treating the "most mundane bulls**t" as "Earth-shattering"

Comedian Jon Stewart on Monday launched into a fiery rant aimed at the media coverage of former President Donald Trump's hush money trial in the latest episode of "The Daily Show."

Stewart spent a portion of Monday's segment lambasting media outlets for their coverage of Trump's criminal trial unfolding in Manhattan, in which prosecutors have alleged that he falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.

“This trial will obviously be a test of the fairness of the American legal system, but it’s also a test of the media’s ability to cover Donald Trump in a responsible way. A task they have acknowledged they’ve performed poorly in the past,” Stewart said before showing a montage of clips from notable outlets like CNN and MSNBC acknowledging that they need to give less obsessive attention to the former president's every antic.

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[-] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 83 points 7 months ago

I've missed Stewart's ability to sum up stories in such a grounded way. Oh, how I wish that we had him from 2016-2020.

[-] OpenStars@startrek.website 54 points 7 months ago

At the same time, his leaving was also a success story in itself. He had all the money he ever needed in life, he was at the top of his game except just was exhausted working that continual grind, and was feeling his age so unlike e.g. any member of Congress, decided to voluntarily relinquish his power in order to create room for new people to step up, while he went on to blaze entirely new pioneer territory outside of mainstream TV, which was quite a risk even for someone like him. Wow... what a class act! 😍

[-] ryper@lemmy.ca 30 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

And now that he's back he's only working Mondays, so he's got less risk of exhaustion and new people still get the rest of the week.

[-] OpenStars@startrek.website 9 points 7 months ago

Unfortunately it's only slated to last until the election results... though this is one time that I hope things do not go as planned!:-P

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

Yeah, seems like a win-win. I remember someone joking with Oliver about how he only does it once a week or something. I like the rotating host thing - when they have people that are not just substituting BEING LOUD for being funny or insightful. Having John for one day of the week and letting others take the helm other days is a nice blend.

Jordan Klepper needs a LOT more air time. He had his own show for like a hot minute and it was great but maybe it just didn't have the numbers so it didn't last long.

Also - where the heck is Samantha Bee and her husband these days?

[-] negativenull@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago

He was the biggest loss during the last presidency for sure.

[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I wish we still had Trevor Moore.

Yes, a different Trevor.

E.g. https://youtu.be/fn3g21Yfd18

Can you imagine part 2 to that?

Or what he would do with the trump saga?

[-] nieceandtows@programming.dev 69 points 7 months ago

They don't care. As long as they get financial gain out of it, they don't mind. Whether Trump gets acquitted or convicted, they have their hands full covering either side's outrage for the next few years.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 47 points 7 months ago

Jessica Williams‘ rebuttal was kind of legit though. Everything else in the news is miserable, and this case is pretty funny. Involves an orange jackass, a porn star, and opening testimony from a dude named pecker. Maybe is ok to have some trash reality TV at Trump’s expense.

[-] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 24 points 7 months ago

Sure, but that’s not what I want from the news.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

Even when I’m consuming my straitlaced NPR, I do enjoy a little Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me making fun of this case. Tragedy straight is pretty crushing. I need some comedy to sprinkled in so I don’t give up in complete despair.

[-] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago

Sure, and you can get that from shows like The Daily Show on The Comedy Network.

The news is supposed to be informative.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

The news has had stuff like this in it since the dawn of the printing press.

IMHO, the problem isn’t infotainment, it the quantity of infotainment.

[-] ripcord@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Eh it's 24/7 news.

Jon nailed it that covering this stuff isn't necessarily an issue unless something more important comes up.

And sure we could say these news outlets could cover a range of topics if not just teach civics when nothing is happening... But they're viewer/profit driven.

[-] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago

But they're viewer/profit driven.

That’s the problem right there.

[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Absolutely. I didn't mean to sound like I'm excusing it as Jon also noted the problem is how everything is a crisis and breaking news and it just exhausts what actually is urgent.

[-] yesman@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago

Cable news' job is to sell advertising. Nelson is the judge of how well their doing.

This is what's so frustrating about neolibs like Jon. They think a call to honor, or perhaps some light regulation can reform capitalism. And even sillier, they imagine that a responsible cable news would somehow lead to an informed electorate.

This is an old schtick for Stuart. Fox News is crazy and CNN is stupid. Both sides, you guys. Please don't look at the incentive structure behind the curtain.

[-] rezifon@lemmy.world 30 points 7 months ago

Even if all that is true, Stewart is still 100% correct here

[-] psmgx@lemmy.world 25 points 7 months ago

Literally textbook deflection and whataboutism. And within the first 3 posts, which means it has a 70-80% chance to derail a thread, assuming regular rebuttals

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 10 points 7 months ago

Cable news’ job is to report the news.

A few decades ago, we had this thing called Fairness Doctrine, which more or less forced news organizations to behave as, well, news organizations first and foremost. But then Reagan decided we didn’t need to worry about that anymore, and Fairness Doctrine was repealed, and the quality of news as a public service in the United States has declined precipitously since that point.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Nelson is the judge of how well their doing.

So they're frantically trying to avoid this?

[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 2 points 7 months ago

I think that’s one of the things people like about Jon Stewart - the idealism. You’re right, though. You can’t make capitalism change by ignoring it.

[-] Haggunenons@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I didn't want to read this article, and couldn't find a video about this article about a video from the media about how the media is spending too much time covering trump, but here is the original video that is about how the media is spending too much time covering trump that this article is about.

Edit: for clarity sake, that link is just to the Jon Stuart video that this article is talking about.

[-] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.ml 14 points 7 months ago

They don't give a fuck. That's one of the many reasons young people have turned away from mainstream stream media. I suspect that's why they want to take down TikTok as well. They can't control the narrative there.

[-] AlternateHuman02@kbin.social 19 points 7 months ago

While I agree, China controlling the narrative on their platform isn't a great option either.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

I liked the bit between him and Jessica that followed.

[-] lennybird@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

It showed some self-awareness I appreciated, and damn do they have good chemistry.

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

Broadcast Media doesnt care.

Broadcast Media spent 6 years salivating over the ratings that trump pulled in pre and post election in the 2020 election. It was like having multiple mass shootings a day, without the viewer burnout. (Which is why you dont hear much obsessive coverage about the multiple mass shootings a day anymore)

Broadcast Media will burn this country to the ground as long as it can continue to pull in the ratings and viewership

[-] crusa187@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

It’s finally happening folks

The walls are closing in on Trump!!!

[-] ghostdoggtv@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

The media have a vested interest in keeping him relevant, otherwise they're going to lose a ton of money when politics becomes boring again.

this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
352 points (100.0% liked)

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