I was just thinking the other day how much I love The Daily Show, and how it's great to have a show that not only shares my sense of humor but also agrees with my budding political beliefs. And then on Tuesday's episode, they had Senator Joe Biden on the show (who, based on that little 5-minute exposure, I like a lot) and he mentioned something about hoping to convey his message to "people aged 18-31, such as those in your audience". And I realized, dammit, of course the show appeals to me so much. It's aimed exactly at people in my age range, who, as they say, tend to hold more liberal viewpoints than those in older age ranges.
Still, The Daily Show doesn't feel like a fabricated product conceived by media executives with studies in hand showing that "this is what the kids are into these days". I don't doubt they have writers, and talented ones too, but most of the humor and wit of the show is in the personalities of the people involved. Not to mention that I've read interviews, etc. with Jon Stewart and find him just as likeable, smart, and making the same points as on the show. So I imagine that even if writers help prepare the material for the show, Stewart and the rest of the cast play a big part in that as well. It just feels like it's coming from them, not being handed to them.
The only frustrating part is that, because it is ostensibly a comedy show on a comedy network, they don't have much credibility, though the points they make are often very valid. Interestingly enough, I'm not alone in feeling that the show does not entirely deserve to be discounted as a source of news and opinion:
MOYERS: I have a confession. [...] I do not know whether you are practicing a old form of parody and satire, [...] or a new form of journalism.
STEWART: Well then that either speaks to the sad state of comedy or the sad state of news. I can't figure out which one. I think, honestly, we're practicing a new form of desperation. Where we just are so inundated with mixed messages from the media and from politicians that we're just trying to sort it out for ourselves. [...] The show's a selfish pursuit.
MOYERS: What do you see that we journalists don't see?
STEWART: I don't think... I think we see exactly what you do see, but for some reason, don't analyze it in that manner or put it on the air in that manner. I can't tell you how many times we'll run into a journalist and [they'll] go, "Boy that's... I wish we could be saying that. That's exactly the way we see it and that's exactly the way we'd like to be saying that." And I always think, "Well, why don't you?"
Obviously, they don't present their content in an objective manner, nor are they required to. But really, all news is pretty much presented subjectively anyway. You need to take anything you see or read with a grain of salt regardless of the source, and not just accept it at face value. So, as long as you take into consideration their comedic intentions, I think that when one is formulating their opinion concerning current events, The Daily Show represents a completely valid opinion which should be included in the equation along with any other sources of news.