Has Fake News Become the Real News?

by Anne Landman [1] — August 18, 2008 - 4:16pm

Left Wing [2]
Right Wing [3]
Iraq [4]
Journalism [5]
Pundits [6]
Democracy [7]
Education [8]
Media [9]
Politics [10]
Propaganda [11]
Rhetoric [12]
Secrecy [13]
War / Peace [14]

Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "Daily Show" An article in the New York Times asks whether Jon Stewart [16] of Comedy Central's Daily Show [17] has become the most trusted man in America, pointing out that his fake news comedy show has emerged in recent years as a "genuine cultural and political force." While 24-hour news networks like FOX, MSNBC and CNN have been pumping out infotainment-style news about topics like dead celebrities and sexual predators, the Daily Show has been critically tracking the cherry-picking of prewar intelligence, the politicization of the Department of Justice [18] and the efforts of the Bush Administration [19] to increase the power of the executive branch. Stewart has proven to be a master at calling out government and corporate spin, hypocrisy and red herrings, and helping his audience see them, too. A 2008 study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism [20] at the Pew Research Enter for the People and the Press [21] found that the Daily Show has had an impact on American dialogue and that it is "getting people to think critically about the public square."

Main Source:

New York Times, August 15, 2008 [22]

Links:
[1] http://dev.prwatch.org/users/5684/anne-landman
[2] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/politics/left-wing
[3] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/politics/right-wing
[4] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/war-peace/iraq
[5] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/media/journalism
[6] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/media/pundits
[7] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/democracy
[8] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/education
[9] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/media
[10] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/politics
[11] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/propaganda
[12] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/rhetoric
[13] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/secrecy
[14] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/war-peace
[15] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdev.prwatch.org%2Fspin%2F2008%2F08%2F7672%2Fhas-fake-news-become-real-news&linkname=Has%20Fake%20News%20Become%20the%20Real%20News%3F
[16] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Jon_Stewart
[17] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Daily_Show
[18] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Department_of_Justice
[19] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Bush_Administration
[20] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Project_for_Excellence_in_Journalism
[21] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pew_Research_Enter_for_the_People_and_the_Press
[22] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/arts/television/17kaku.html?em