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Every generation has its
own set of trusted television news journalists. The earliest TV-watching
Americans had Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. Our parents'
generation had Peter Jennings*, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather. As these last
three prestigious journalists fade from the television screen, it marks
the end of one of the great generations of television news anchors. Now,
young adults must find their own trustworthy and generation-defining TV
news figure. Early indications show that they already have one in mind:
John Stewart.
According to a poll
released in early 2005 by the Pew Research Center, 21% of people age 18-29
watch the "The Daily Show" as their main news source.
Ironic for a program that
is a self-proclaimed fake news show.
This fact may come as a
shock to some adults, but not to a large number of teenagers. Many
high-school students would not even be able to name any of the prominent
national television news anchors, but most of them know of Stewart. Adults
may incorrectly attribute this to stereotypical teenage ignorance, but
this issue is part of a much larger problem.
The fact is that the news
media has proven to be an untrustworthy source of information for many
Americans, not just for teenagers. The shift in trust from major network
news to more biased and personalized news like Stewart's The Daily Show
has spawned out of the increasing media corruption. It was discovered
earlier this year that newspaper columnist Armstrong Willliams was paid
$240,000 by the Bush administration to promote the No Child Left Behind
Act. One of the main reasons why Dan Rather is leaving CBS is because of
his fall from grace after making an erroneous report about President
Bush's service in the Texas National Guard. Television news networks are
falling under increasing public scrutiny for apparent bias in their
reporting. A film entitled "Outfoxed" was recently released, which accuses
the Fox News network of various forms of corruption.
The reason why news anchors
like John Stewart are so highly respected is because he is honest. True,
he may deliberately and humorously embellish his "news" broadcasts, but
audiences know that his show is nothing more than satire and never to be
interpreted as fact. His lies are harmless, but those told by mainstream
media figures certainly are not. Stewart's spoofing of news broadcasts is
like the voice of the people; he mocks the flaws of the news media as a
defense mechanism against its unreliability.
"The Daily Show's" own
motto satirically suggests the same thing: "If you're tired of the
stodginess of the evening newscasts, if you can't bear to sit through the
spinmeisters and shills on the 24-hour cable news networks, don't miss The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a nightly half-hour series unburdened by
objectivity, journalistic integrity or even accuracy."
"The Daily Show" is an
enormously successful program (it has won the Emmy award for "Outstanding
Music, Variety, or Comedy Series" for the last three years) because it
offers solutions to the two main complaints against the news media: it is
devoid of the political spin found on networks like Fox News, and
it involves humor. The latter is likely a major contributor to its
popularity amongst teenage audiences, along with its irreverence to
mainstream media. The program has been so successful that Comedy Central
created a spin-off to "The Daily Show" called "The Colbert Report",
featuring Stephen Colbert, a former Daily Show reporter.
Newsweek magazine
recently commented in its November 7 issue on the evolving state of the
nation's news media saying "[that] everyone seems to agree that the
old-fashioned model of the evening newscast needs fixing." Moreover,
Newsweek recognized the increasing popularity of alternative news sources,
such as The Daily Show and blogs as news sources for young people. Even
former president Bill Clinton said in a November 8 speech that "the blog
sites are changing the news."
The American people are
demanding changes in the way that they receive news, and the networks need
to recognize and act upon that fact.
Younger people have
historically had a general distrust of the media, and the fact that many
of them know and respect comedians more than prestigious news anchors is a
tribute to that long-standing legacy, and its continuance into our
generation.
If the news media wants to
survive in this country, it is going to have to listen to the demands of
young people, their next generation audience. Teenagers and young adults
want evolving news, and "The Daily Show" is simply more appealing and
trustworthy to teenagers, even if it is a fake news show.
Sources: The Pew Research
Center, CBS News, Fox News, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", Comedy
Central, Newsweek Magazine
Also published in
Victor's high school newspaper.
Special
thanks to the editor of that newspaper for his assistance with this story.
*Note: This
article was written before the untimely passing of Mr. Jennings. |
