Jon Stewart, Enemy of Democracy?

[babylonsister]

YEAH, RIGHT!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201474.html

Jon Stewart, Enemy of Democracy?

By Richard Morin
Friday, June 23, 2006; Page A02

This is not funny: Jon Stewart and his hit Comedy Central cable show may be poisoning democracy.

Two political scientists found that young people who watch Stewart's faux news program, "The Daily Show," develop cynical views about politics and politicians that could lead them to just say no to voting.

That's particularly dismaying news because the show is hugely popular among college students, many of whom already don't bother to cast ballots.

more...

[dogday]

1. Make sure you read page 2

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201474_2.html

Democrats and independents were far more generous; on average, they gave Katrina victims on average more than $1,500 a month, compared with $1,200 for Republicans, and for 13 months instead of nine.

But for Democrats, race mattered -- and in a disturbing way. Overall, Democrats were willing to give whites about $1,500 more than they chose to give to a black or other minority. (Even with this race penalty, Democrats still were willing to give more to blacks than those principled Republicans.) "Republicans are likely to be more stringent, both in terms of money and time, Iyengar said. "However, their position is 'principled' in the sense that it stems from a strong belief in individualism (as opposed to handouts). Thus their responses to the assistance questions are relatively invariant across the different media conditions. Independents and Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to be affected by racial cues."


They trash the crap out of the Dems....

[Hamlette]

6. they trash Dems, even though Dems "give" way more money

AND they don't show/say how Dems are "affected" by race.

NOR, in the article, does it show how people who are cynical vote less. All it says is people who watch Stewart are more cynical. Hell, I'm cynical and I vote...always.

PURE BUNK....both articles. Who IS this guy?

[Marr]

23. Of course! Don't you see-

Republican racism is actually principle!

Democratic principles are actually racism!

These guys get paid to explain why up is down, black is white, etc.

[morgan2]

2. I like how they mention that the show

is popular amoung college students who vote in lower numbers anyway. So because the demographic already isnt voting, can't that be the reason his viewers don't vote as often.

[applegrove]

3. D'ya think there is a leadership vacuum thingy going on..so comedians,

who use adult humour to punch through to truths (otherwise their humour isn't funny if it isn't enlightening and honest) are all the rage?

Wonder how that happened?

Oh yes.. some people came along and decided people who they consider stupider than themselves can survive on a strict diet of myth and should be forced to eat only that.

Now people are starving.

Americans are starving for knowledge and truth. And honesty.

[rniel]

11. I think that's why suddenly

documentaries like F9/11, An inconvenient truth, etc. have became so popular. This is people hungering for information they don't get from the news media.

It's pretty much a recent thing I think. I don't remember people going to the movies to see a documentary 10 years ago.

[applegrove]

12. Yes. That is what I see.

[Rex]

4. Stewart is definitely an Enemy of the M$M.

And that pisses off the corporate propaganda mill. Go Jon!

[Scorpio2000]

5. He Is Entertaining though

That's just an act. Stewart's show is on Comedy Central. Owned by the same folks who own CNN. AOL/Time Warner, with heavy Saudi investment.

[emulatorloo]

7. And they sell plenty of ads, probably at a high-dollar premium

EOM

[varkam]

8. He's still gotta pay the bills somehow n/t

[emulatorloo]

9. very true -- but "enemy of the M$M" hardly fits as a characterization

great show, but lets get real!

[varkam]

10. I would agree he's not exactly an outsider...

But he does present stuff on his show that is decidedly outside of what the MSM would present and comment on.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi Scorpio2000!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[rman]

22. Still, Steward's message is critical of the MSM and

corporate politicians. That's got to count for something.
If he wouldn't be on one of the big networks, hardly anyone would hear the message.

[banjoterror]

13. Has anyone else heard of other...

studies in which it was also shown that kiddies who regularly watched the daily show during the 2004 campaign were also noticeably better informed about the candidates and issues up for debate than other kiddies who didn't? I know I read about that somewhere and I haven't been able to find a reference to it again.

[babylonsister]

15. No, but I imagine they're out there. And welcome to DU, banjoterror!

:hi:

[banjoterror]

17. Here

Here's a link to the study I mentioned from 2004.

[newyawker99]

19. Hi banjoterror!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[annabanana]

14. Richard Morin...

is a Moran!

that is all

[Rose Siding]

16. This is a baseless hit piece. Look at the methodology! AND the results

snip>
To test for a "Daily Effect," Baumgartner and Morris showed video clips of coverage of the 2004 presidential candidates to one group of college students and campaign coverage from "The CBS Evening News" to another group. Then they measured the students' attitudes toward politics, President Bush and the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.).

FROM CLIPS? Who chose them? How did the topics correlate? That's useless.

snip>
"Ultimately, negative perceptions of candidates could have participation implications by keeping more youth from the polls," they wrote.

COULD HAVE? Could have implications? It's supposition! Baseless. Hit. Piece.

[sendero]

20. I sent him a nice email...

...
Why don't you go one further and study where "journalists" fall on your cynicism spectrum. I believe the trust level is in the TEENS.

And reading tripe like this it's no surprise. Want to know who has an active and systematic effort underway to supress the vote turnout?
If you don't know already that it is the Republican party, then why are you inflicting your baseless nonsensical words on an already cynical public?

Most college students spend a LOT of time on the internet. The internet is the last place in this country where you can find real information, IF YOU WANT IT. Of course, you can also find a lot of hit pieces like yours, but guess what - this stuff works pretty well on older folks but younger people are a lot more media savvy (read cynical, and for good reason) cable "news" programs are a joke that would make Pravda blush and the print media is only a couple years behind.

I'm betting that whatever these absurdly designed "studies" show, college kids "get" the Daily Show just fine. If you are looking for a knee slap - check into this. Lots of Republicans think the Daily Show spinoff, the Colbert Report, is real and don't see it as the over-the-top sendup of Bill O'Reilly et al that it is. Now THAT's FUNNY!

[Toots]

21. "develop cynical views about politics and politicians"

Now how in the hell could they ever do that.:sarcasm: All Jon does is show news clips and make a few comments.:hurts: Who in America does not hold cynical views of politics and politicians?