Jon Stewart (and in some sense Stephen Colbert) routinely gives smarter and more important takes on issues than any supposed “serious” talking head on any of the major cable networks, and I find this fascinating. I’ve never watched his show from beginning to end¹ so I’m admittedly not very familiar with it outside of his opening monologue. I do know, however, the show has the unique opportunity of catering to both sides of the political spectrum. Yes, there is probably some poll that shows the average viewer is left leaning and under 35, but I’d be willing to bet it more than any other cable news show has a diverse audience.

People watch The Daily Show because they want to laugh. People watch normal cable news shows because they want to hear what they want to hear. No one watches MSNBC to hear their favorite conservative pundit blabber about the ideals of capitalism, just as no one watches Fox News to hear about why abortion should be legal. The viewers of those networks are probably not going to have their opinions swayed. In political speak, those networks are essentially “catering to their base”. That, in my opinion, is a great waste, but I do understand why this happens. The various networks need to build an audience and that is much easier to do when you position yourself as “The Conservative Network” or “The Liberal Network” as opposed to “The Network of Logical Thought”². There is a reason why PBS’s The News Hour with Jim Lehrer has to be publicly funded: it’s boring to the masses.

This brings me to my ultimate point: I think it’s pretty sad that we live in a time where all of TV — or all of media for that matter — is required to be entertainment. To grab eye balls, shows have to be stimulating and sensationalist. Why can’t people see the value in watching a program that is purely informational? Fox News and MSNBC might try to come across as being informational, but they most certainly are not. They are entertainment, start to finish³. I find it ironic that the only shows actually saying something educational and informational are the ones that are blatantly entertaining and comedic.

1. Although I do occasionally stumble on a viral video clip. His recent monologues on the Tucson shooting and the coverage surrounding it prompted this post. ↵
2. One could argue that Fox News exists to push the political agenda of News Corps. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, but that’s another discussion for another day. ↵
3. I laugh when Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly try to pretend they are actually making profound statements. People watch you because you spit at the camera, not because they think you’re a genius. ↵