You're probably already aware that Jon Stewart, host of a comedy show called The Daily Show, made a recent appearance on CNN's Crossfire in which he took his hosts to task for being partisan hacks and "hurting America". Just in case you're not aware, you can see the segment in Quicktime format here.
There's an op-ed in the Toronto Star today that takes Stewart to task in turn. It seems Stewart's expectations of Crossfire are too high.
For those unfamiliar with its format, Crossfire is a political "chat" show in which two, and later, four, hostile and starkly partisan advocates take turns yelling at one another. The very day Stewart appeared on the program, co-host Paul Begala described it this way: "Our show is about ... left vs. right, black vs. white, paper vs. plastic, Red Sox against Yankees." It isn't subtle.
...
... Crossfire was never intended to serve as a formal debating society. To criticize it for "doing theatre" is akin to attacking The Daily Show for its utter lack of seriousness.Stewart must be the only person in North America who turns to Crossfire hoping for an outbreak of civility.
In other words, a television show which is ostensibly about politics is really entertainment and there's no point in expecting it to be anything other than what Stewart described it as -- partisan hackery designed to boost ratings rather than inform the public. If the debate's participants happen to get anywhere in the general vicinity of the truth, it's entirely by accident and should be ignored.
Could this be a case of the print media reserving to itself the role to be the real gatekeepers of serious reporting? Apparently not.
Its pointless to look here ? or anywhere else in the media ? for grand truths, or for society to be saved through earnest and elevated debate.
Emphasis added. It's pointless to look anywhere in the media for earnest and elevated debate. And who's suggesting that we should lower our expectations of all media?
Leslie Papp is a member of the Star's editorial board.
God help us all.
Oy.
And if you were to ask Ms. Papp (what a fitting name) where one ought to look for elevated debate, all you'd likely get is a blank stare.
Without knowing it, Ms. Papp seems to be making a pretty strong argument for the value of the blogosphere.
Nice catch. What an idiot Papp is.
Papp is missing the forest for the trees. Stewart, when commenting on this the Daily Show about his Crossfire experience, clarified that he thought all the media were dicks.
Papps' comment about lowering our expectations when it comes to objective truth seems to be at odds with what the Star thinks about itself.
p.s. - Jon Stewart for Prime Minister. If the Americans don't want him for president, we should grab him.
Papps' comment about lowering our expectations when it comes to objective truth seems to be at odds with what the Star thinks about itself.
That's exactly why I thought it was worth blogging.