John Stewart takes a good look at new media

via Comedy Central
Preface: I apologize ahead of time for those who actually sleep at 3am and have yet to see the Feb. 4th, 2010 episode of The Daily Show. I also apologize that because of this I also do not have video clips to further illustrate my point about what the aforementioned episode taught me. Once a video clip is available I will be sure to edit this post. (EDIT) WordPress cannot imbed videos from Comedy Central so the Feb 4th episode can be viewed here.
Tonight (or this morning as it were) aired the Feb. 4th, 2010 episode of The Daily Show. Once again I was reminded exactly why I watch The Daily Show.
John Stewart delivered a poignant address about the new media: blogging. Stewart emphasized the impact/implications of blog headlines in relation to events that were a far cry from the headlines that heralded them. His key illustration came down to a simple retort between himself and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. The so called ’slam’ of Stewart on Maddow occurred after the Jan. 14th, 2010 episode of The Daily Show. Note if you will that the segment with Maddow in it was less than a minute long, and yet a few blogs appeared there after claiming that Stewart ’slam[med]‘ Maddow. A few claimed that Stewart ‘ripped’ Maddow.
For some reason Maddow felt it necessary to have an on air response to this so called ’slam’ which only came back with more blogs about how Maddow ‘retaliat[ed]‘ against Stewart. Once again, keep in mind that Maddow’s address was less than a minute long!
Stewart also pointed out a few other blogs claiming that Maddow had ‘eviscerated’ a few of her guests. Granted this segment was followed by childish (even Stewart admitted to the juvenile) humor, I was still rather enthralled by the thought put into the segment.
Journalism has prescribed to the idea of objectivity, and yet with this new form of media and the demand for ’selling yourself’ or your personality, it seems that objectivity strays further out of reach by the moment. The days of black and white press are quickly being overtaken by new, or ‘disruptive’ media. Granted these changes have afforded the world great outlets and sources for news, at what cost do we adopt new media? Is it not just as easy to think that those who believe every blog they read as fact are the same types of people who would have believed hearsay and word of mouth in the days of printed press? Have we pushed objectivity that much further away? Even know I am straying from journalistic style by asking you (the reader) these questions. Perhaps it is ignorant to believe in any such ‘journalistic style’.
Can structured journalism really exist in the midst of new media?


Like everyone with cable who happens to be awake after 10 p.m. I’m sure you have been the victim of a Girls Gone Wild commercial. In fact they play so often it isn’t hard to memorize the aforementioned commercials. Every commercial starts with the following spoken warning: “Warning: This video contains adult content not suitable for children.”







