Gawker's John Cook yesterday published an exclusive report on a trove of documents from the Nixon Presidential Library tracing the development of Fox News to a 1970 internal memo annotated by then-consultant Roger Ailes. Part of a 318-page cache of similar documents, the memo -- "A Plan For Putting the GOP on TV News" -- called for the creation of a strongly pro-Nixon news outlet operated from the White House which would disseminate partisan news packages free of charge to local affiliates across the country. By coordinating release of these targeted reports with allied politicians and duping opponents into hostile interviews, Ailes hoped to bypass the "prejudices of network news" -- a desire which led him to advocate for some unexpected political policies at the time, from campaign finance reform to anti-poverty efforts. The report comes as Fox is waging an aggressive two-front PR war with perceived ideological enemies -- calling on viewers to file IRS complaints against Media Matters' tax-exempt status for their dogged fact-checking of the network, while on-air hosts launched a campaign to label Jon Stewart "racist" after he called out their record of falsehoods following a critical interview with Chris Wallace (previously).
posted by Rhaomi on Jul 1, 2011 - 92 comments

The Daily Show's Decade in Review. [Single-link Comedy Central video presentation.]
posted by milquetoast on Dec 28, 2009 - 37 comments

Mock the Vote: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert interviewed.
posted by Artw on Sep 25, 2008 - 41 comments

It's a slightly less glamorous beginning than I had imagined, but that doesn't matter because getting the job on The Daily Show is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. Writer/actor/comedienne Lauren Weedman recounts her six-month quest to get Jon Stewart to like her. (She failed). [more inside]
posted by donovan on Sep 26, 2007 - 95 comments

You knew it was coming. Fox News's "Daily Show for conservatives", The 1/2 Hour News Hour.
posted by Arcaz Ino on Feb 14, 2007 - 128 comments

"My Shtick? Being Black." You probably know Jordan Carlos from his role on The Colbert Report. Like me, you may not have known he didn't actually work there: "'Saturday Night Live' has no black writers. 'The Daily Show' also doesn't have any, and neither does 'The Colbert Report,' a show on which I've played Stephen Colbert's black friend 'Alan,' a member of the staff. That's right. 'The Colbert Report' had to hire an actor to play a black person who works on the show." (via Oliver Willis)
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Jan 8, 2007 - 180 comments

CNN Cans Tucker Carlson of 'Crossfire' - To quote chief executive of CNN Jonathan Klein, "I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp." (via)
posted by buriednexttoyou on Jan 5, 2005 - 105 comments

Conan follows John Stewart: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog conducts interviews in Spin Alley.
posted by Tlogmer on Oct 22, 2004 - 27 comments

The Smoking Gun TV show will be debuting this summer on Court TV, hosted by the Daily Show's Mo Rocca. Also in the website-to-television trend, Classmates.com's new reality show premieres on Fox in June. No word on the Metafilter pilot yet.
posted by waxpancake on May 12, 2003 - 14 comments