I am devoted to the Jon Stewart show and watch close to every episode. On
Tivo I recently saw that his show is in the top ten of all of their recorded
shows. However, he has a bias that is subtle and worth mentioning, he love
actors and his chosen profession. This is great for him as he gets to live
his dream. Unfortunately, this leads to a bias in the information that is
being presented. He panders to the entertainment industry at the cost of
other points of view. This is also great for him as he probably gets
positive feedback from his chosen industry, I'm sure that they return his love,
but at what cost. He is very influential according to surveys and the
like, so it is important to realize that he is not giving a fair playing field
to his comedic interpretation of news events. While the Jon Stewart show
is insightful, it is a comedy show within the entertainment industry and
unfortunately this means the entertainment industry, for the most part, gets a
free pass. For example, a popular actor stated that the Red Cross was a
sham and that people should not donate to them and Jon didn't challenge this
radical statement. The American Red Cross is an open book, highly visible,
relief organization that can position literally billions of dollars in resources
to disaster locations. It can and should be criticized for its mistakes,
but it should not be judged on national TV, as being a disgrace immediately
after our nations largest national disaster without challenge. Some Red
Cross personnel did make mistakes during the Katrina relief effort, but nothing
like the mistake Jon made by acting like a little naive schoolboy gaping at his
hero, unwilling to make a joke at the expense of a movie star. A movie
star that proved that without a script and retakes, they are not any smarter or
wittier then anyone else, and probably a little out of touch.
This bias towards the entertainment field does not preclude me from watching
this show and enjoying the humorous interpretation of current events.
Unfortunately, sometimes I miss where reality stops and the joke begins.
For instance he got me with his gag that Evian water
is filtered with cow's blood. I stopped drinking
Evian, and I imagine a lot of other people did too. Others well-known
people made this claim too, since the French have become a target for bashing
from the USA. I would imagine at the time the Jon Stewart show was
responding to the mainstream bashing, probably from some unscrupulous
bureaucrat, but I am the one that got duped. It was many months later that
I looked this up, as I was challenged when I presented this tidbit as common
knowledge. It was French wine, that up to several years ago, would
use, among other substances, dried oxblood or blood albumen to remove
impurities from from the wine. Now this I would need to know as wine can
sits on the shelf for years before being sold, and I would not drink this
knowingly. It must be concluded that even that which brings us entertainment is also
subject to the same imperfections that we all suffer. I would ask
comedians one thing though, if your combining a joke with something that is
true, how about tipping us off after you get the laugh.
Tom Stewart
Peace out cat (or is that dog, I try to stay hip, but they keep changing the words)
