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Cancel the Unethical 'Daily Show'
Townhall.com ^ | 9-24-2014 | Brent Bozell

Posted on 09/24/2014 2:14:05 AM PDT by servo1969

The liberal legend of Jon Stewart began with his Oct. 15, 2004 appearance on CNN's "Crossfire," where he rhetorically sentenced the show to death. He proclaimed, "It's hurting America. Here is what I wanted to tell you guys: Stop. ... You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably."

CNN announced it was canceling the show two months later, as network president Jon Klein told the New York Times "I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Stewart's overall premise."

As is so typical of liberals who preach one thing while doing its opposite (Leonardo DiCaprio, call your office), Comedy Central has never felt any responsibility to "the public discourse." If we applied Jon Klein's standard, it would be time for "The Daily Show" to be canceled.

It claims to be a "fake news" show that satirizes what's wrong with news. It could be that -- but it isn't. It is everything that is wrong about today's snarky liberal media elite.

Stewart and his producers are well-known for creating taped interview segments that cut every ethical corner to get cheap laughs -- while cutting conservatives into pieces. There is no attempt at fairness or accuracy. Producers lie without remorse to interview subjects.

Take four die-hard fans of the Washington Redskins, who were unsuspectingly invited to a taped ambush by "The Daily Show" on Sept. 13, according to The Washington Post. After being told this was a panel discussion that would not be an on-camera debate with leftist Indian activists who hate the team name, Team Stewart then brought in the Indians to shame the Redskins fans. The Post reported the debate, if you can call it that, was "so tense that an Alexandria fan said she left in tears and felt so threatened that she later called the police."

Kelli O'Dell, a 56-year-old former teacher who doesn't really watch Stewart's show, told the Post "It was disingenuous. The Native Americans accused me of things that were so wrong. I felt in danger. I didn't consent to that. I am going to be defamed."

Brian Dortch, who has a home-repair business, said he and the other fans had asked in advance if there would be a debate. The producers said there would be a panel of fans and a panel of Indians. "So I said back, 'Just to clarify, specifically, we're not doing a cross-panel discussion right?" According to Dortch, the producer replied, "Yeah, right. That would be too serious for Comedy Central."

He lied.

After three long hours of interviewing, Comedy Central "correspondent" Jason Jones waved in four angry Indians who were told in advance of the ambush. Jones then brought out some beer and chicken wings to watch -- implying he was going to enjoy watching as the Redskins fans suffered a psychological beating.

O'Dell said she felt trapped. "I was told that I was 'psychologically damaging Native-American children,' and every time we tried to say something, we got cut off," she said. There was no debate. There was only an attempt to shame and humiliate the "racist" Redskins fans.

What's amazing is how liberals -- even journalists -- welcomed this spectacle. Washington Post reporter Paul Kane dismissed his own newspaper's story on Twitter: "I'm sorry but at this stage you can't complain about being 'misled' by Daily Show/Colbert interviewer. Joke's on you."

Matt Essert at the liberal blog Mic encouraged the lying: "Tricky, but smart: Though Jones' tactics might seem deceitful, at this point in the show's history, it's hard to possibly imagine that any interview on the show will be straightforward."

All this cynical entrapment is, to borrow from Stewart, a menace to the "public discourse." The "Daily Show" producers are chuckling like cowards. Note how the segments are taped -- and edited. They're never live, when Stewart wouldn't have a chance.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Humor; Society; Sports
KEYWORDS: football; jon; jonstewart; redskins; stewart; washington

1 posted on 09/24/2014 2:14:05 AM PDT by servo1969
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To: servo1969

Ethical???? Lack of ethics is the least worry. It is incredible how many stupid people actually use this piece of crap as their source of news. Left wing leaning satirical dung is in high fashion now days.


2 posted on 09/24/2014 2:19:41 AM PDT by catfish1957 (Everything I needed to know about Islam was written on 11 Sep 2001)
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To: servo1969
"I'm sorry but at this stage you can't complain about being 'misled' by Daily Show/Colbert interviewer. Joke's on you."

Lying is so funny, hahaha!

Note how the segments are taped -- and edited. They're never live, when Stewart wouldn't have a chance.

This Stewart guy must be a real cheap coward!

3 posted on 09/24/2014 2:27:07 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (The media must be defeated any way it can be done.)
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To: servo1969

It all is rather insidious as the Daily Show tricks, manipulates and cons conservatives to go on the Daily Show.

The Daily Show might even be breaking the law by conspiring to mislead conservatives to further their own liberal enterprise in a manner that may violate RICO.


4 posted on 09/24/2014 2:35:32 AM PDT by Oliviaforever
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To: servo1969

Yeah...as I have observed for almost two decades now....leftists have no sense of humor. The only thing they exhibit even remotely close to a “sense of humor” is when it equates to mocking, ridiculing and humiliating someone....usually their opposition and/or anyone that is NOT a rabid leftist like themselves.


5 posted on 09/24/2014 2:39:03 AM PDT by XenaLee (The only good commie is a dead commie)
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To: servo1969

Despicable behavior. Hope nothing worse comes out of this - remember what happened some years back when that hag Jenny Jones ambushed one of her guests?


6 posted on 09/24/2014 2:44:52 AM PDT by DemforBush (A Repo Man is always intense.)
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To: servo1969; All

Sadly, the Daily Show is the #1 News Source for US Males under 40.

The Daily Show’s Twitter Account has 2.77 Million followers, who get instant and numerous leftist political jibes daily.

Between the Daily Show, Facebook, Twitter, and Mashable, about 7 MILLION people have already seen Stewart’s mocking of Republicans in Congress about Climate Change.

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee struggles with the basic principles of global warming. http://on.cc.com/1vcjuzt

One of the things that really irks me about conservatives is that so many of them do not understand how much Social Media has become an engrained part of life for so many younger than us, and how easy it is to manipulate them with it.


7 posted on 09/24/2014 2:48:19 AM PDT by tcrlaf (Q)
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To: servo1969

They have yet another one of these leftist snark/rant “news” programs, led by John Oliver on HBO.

What really ticks me off are the conservatives that will tell you how much they like these shows as if they are just satire programs. How myopic can some of us be?


8 posted on 09/24/2014 2:57:04 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: XenaLee

“Civility” is what the left has long preached.

But civility is what the left reserves only for other members of the left with whom they disagree.

In other words, it’s only OK to disagree with a leftist if you are also on the left, and agree on philosophical assumptions.


9 posted on 09/24/2014 3:51:44 AM PDT by oblomov
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To: XenaLee

“Civility” is what the left has long preached.

But civility is what the left reserves only for other members of the left with whom they disagree.

In other words, it’s only OK to disagree with a leftist if you are also on the left, and agree on philosophical assumptions.


10 posted on 09/24/2014 3:51:45 AM PDT by oblomov
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To: Oliviaforever

LOL.

How do you trick, manipulate and con a conservative to appear on a show that has been hosted by the same guy, doing the same thing since 1999, which premiered with a different host a few years earlier than that?

These conservatives you speak of are 1) dumber than a box of rocks, or 2) have been living under a rock, or 3) need or want the face time.

I go with option 3.


11 posted on 09/24/2014 4:32:01 AM PDT by dmz
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To: servo1969

Jon Steward is just another Liberal hack. He thinks he is smarter than everyone else but, just like Obama,when he is live and has no teleprompter, sounds like a babbling whackjob.


12 posted on 09/24/2014 4:48:20 AM PDT by Yorlik803 ( Church/Caboose in 2016)
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To: servo1969
It's hurting America. Here is what I wanted to tell you guys: Stop. ... You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably."

Stewart nee Liebowitz is such a f***ing hypocrite he makes maggots gag.

13 posted on 09/24/2014 5:16:24 AM PDT by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
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