Is The Daily Show truthful journalism?

Recently the news has been filled with coverage of the Swine Flu. Even The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has gotten involved. The actual way in which these two sources cover the same story varies, but in the end, they still manage to get similar information across to their viewers.

The mainstream news stations have covered the swine flu story in the typical dramatic fashion in which they cover any major news story. Each newscast features representatives from the Center for Disease control explaining what the disease is, and how you can prevent contracting it, as well as an update on the number of cases reported so far in the United States and schools that have been closed. Words such as “pandemic” and “outbreak” with phrases such as “public health emergency” accompany hourly updates on the swine flu. It’s no wonder people are panicking so much.

Local news stations such as WBAL and ABC2 news cover this story a little differently than national news stations such as MSNBC and CNN. On the local nightly news, they mainly cover what is important to people in the state of Maryland. For example, on a newscast over the weekend, they had someone from the Maryland State school system explaining what will happen if any swine flu cases are reported in the Maryland Public schools. Even though their coverage is far less dramatic than that of the national news, they still overdo it.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart takes a radically different approach to news reporting. The show does give actual news, but does so with a comedic twist. There are three main ways in which they mimic mainstream news. Local news stations have graphics, usually in the top left corner, that accompany each story. For the swine flu there was a graphic that looked like a graphic straight out of any local news station expect for one small detail; the words “Snoutbreak ’09.” This ultimately makes the news more interesting to watch as opposed to the boring monotony that accompanies news on mainstream television stations. Another important fixture of mainstream news is on site reporters, which The Daily Show included. In the episode that I watched, they had a reporter at The Center for Disease Control who was giving true facts and another reporter at The Centers for Stuff That I Heard from Some Guy who was giving completely off the wall information that had no basis in fact. Finally, Jon Stewart would report something that was factually true (“swine flu began south of the border in Mexico, and has killed 149 people so far”) then interject a joke after it (“list of things that can kill you in Mexico”). This brings me to my next point, The Daily Show’s appeal to a younger audience.

It isn’t a secret that today’s younger generation just isn’t watching the news. It’s simply much too boring to hold their attention for very long. Instead, they turn to sources such as The Daily Show for their news. Some argue that these sources are much less accurate than the mainstream news. The article “CNN Discovers Downside of ‘Citizen Journalism”” talks about how news and photos on the Internet and other sources aren’t always true. However, based on the episode of The Daily Show that I watched, I strongly disagree with those arguments. As I mentioned before, much of what was said on The Daily Show was factually based and could be seen on mainstream television channels, in a far less entertaining way.

Unlike mainstream television outlets, The Daily show has to report news differently. Since it’s on a channel like Comedy Central, people turn it on and expect to laugh. On the other hand, people watch mainstream news channels when they want instant and accurate updates on major news stories. In my opinion, it is such differences between the two that make it unfair to compare them. Mainstream news channels appeal to a much different audience than that of The Daily Show and each serves an entirely different purpose.

Because it has an aspect of comedy, The Daily Show can get away with challenging the coverage of other (real) news stations. In her article “What can the Mainstream Media Learn from Jon Stewart,” Rachel Smolkin talks to Hub Brown who is a chair of the S.I Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He said that he became addicted to The Daily Show during the beginning of the Iraq War because “he felt most of the mainstream media were swallowing the administration's spin rather than challenging it. The Daily Show did not.” This relates to my modern example of the swine flu. News stations have become so absorbed with the government naming the swine flu a national health emergency that they haven’t taken a chance to step back and really look at what they’re reporting. So far, Jon Stewart has been the only one who has stood up and said how ridiculous this news coverage really is. And he’s absolutely right. In today’s society this fake journalism has almost become more accurate than real journalism. Who knows, in the future, The Daily Show may become out main source of news.





Harmanci, Raymond “CNN Learns Downside of ‘Citizen Journalism’” sfgate.com 2008

Smolkin, Rachel “What Can the Mainstream News Learn from Jon Stewart?” ajr.org 2007