Satire has long been part of discourse, with
written records going back to the Ramesside Period of Ancient Egypt, and two primary classifications of satire
originate with the Roman satirists Horace and Juvenal. Other notable
historic figures have also been authors of significant satire, but
not always with much appreciation.
News satire furthers the awkward stance with public, as
the public may read satire as an outrageous truth, and be angered instead of amused. The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart in specific, ranks well in
the fractured world of current news programming, and the show was noted in the New York Times as "
a genuine cultural and political force"
(previously), but you don't have take their word for it.
Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism studied the content of The Daily Show for an entire year (2007), providing interesting (if slightly dated) details on the show. That year included their
much-viewed coverage fo the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. And in
poll results published July 24, 2009,
Jon Stewart was voted America's most trusted newscaster, apparently filling the position
previously held by Walter Cronkite. But is it because Stewart is
one of the few journalists willing to ask the hard questions or
has America been won over by "cheap laughs"?
posted by filthy light thief
on Nov 6, 2009 -
54 comments
Greil Marcus writes
Real Life Top Ten for the Believer Magazine, in which he lists "anything that remotely has to do with music, a dress Bette Midler wore at an awards show or a great guitar solo in the middle of a song that otherwise wasn't very interesting." But he's been writing this
column online for just about
10 years. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue
on Jun 25, 2009 -
4 comments
Going After Gore "Al Gore couldn't believe his eyes: as the 2000 election heated up, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other top news outlets kept going after him, with misquotes ("I invented the Internet"), distortions (that he lied about being the inspiration for Love Story), and strangely off-the-mark needling, while pundits such as Maureen Dowd appeared to be charmed by his rival, George W. Bush. For the first time, Gore and his family talk about the effect of the press attacks on his campaign—and about his future plans—to the author, who finds that many in the media are re-assessing their 2000 coverage."
posted by chunking express
on Sep 4, 2007 -
168 comments
At large in the blogosphere And yet another analysis of the world of blogging. Does this one, by a decent literary and cultural critic, present blogs and blogging in a better light than many earlier ones? note: NY Times free reg reqd.
posted by Postroad
on May 5, 2002 -
43 comments
Salon suspends "Bushed". Citing the need to "marshal our editorial forces to cover the global terrorism story," Salon EIC David Talbot has suspended "Bushed" a daily feature that takes a close, often critical, look at the Bush Administration. Does anyone buy his rationale? This reeks of journalistic cowardice...
posted by mattpusateri
on Sep 21, 2001 -
21 comments
