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Study of 'Daily Show': It's a lot like O'Reilly

By DAVID BAUDER,

Posted: 2008-05-08 16:19:01

NEW YORK (AP) - A journalism think tank studying "The Daily Show" doesn't believe many people get their news from Jon Stewart - because otherwise they wouldn't get the jokes.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism also said it was surprised at how much the Comedy Central late-night program resembles "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hardball" and other cable news shows in content.

The Washington-based organization asked its researchers to study a year's worth of "The Daily Show" tapes - hardly a grim assignment - after hearing the frequent claim that many young people learn about the world from Stewart instead of more traditional news sources.

Tom Rosenstiel, the project's director, said he doubts this is the case. He considers "The Daily Show" more of a political satire in the tradition of newspapermen like Art Buchwald, H.L. Mencken and Russell Baker.

"They're not making jokes about Dan Quayle is dumb or Gerald Ford is clumsy," he said. "They're not making jokes that you could get if you live in the country but don't read the news .

You can't get the jokes if you're not watching the news. The jokes are designed to make you think more about the news."

A Comedy Central representative had no immediate comment on the study. Stewart has consistently ridiculed the idea that he's somehow a newsman, saying he's just a comic. Comedy Central is owned by Viacom Inc.

Politics, government and the Bush administration's policies in Iraq accounted for about half of the show's content, making it quite similar to the focus of serious cable news shows, the study said. About 8 percent of the show's time is spent looking at the behavior of the press.

The show is actually making some very serious political commentary, "but they use humor to do it," Rosenstiel said.

With some stories in no way conducive to humor, "The Daily Show" ignores certain big events. The Minnesota bridge collapse wasn't mentioned on the show, and the Virginia Tech massacre was largely ignored, the study said.

And, of course, sometimes the news gives way to pure comedy. On a January day when traditional newscasts led with severe winter weather gripping much of the country, "Stewart began his show by pondering what drink would be best to wash down a Jimmy Dean pancake and sausage on a stick," the study said.

The verdict: Gatorade.

While Stewart aims most of his firepower at Republicans, the show is actually pretty balanced in its bookings, the study noted. Of the clearly partisan, 15 guests were conservative and 18 were liberal. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain was a guest on Wednesday's show.

"The fact that the lineup of guests is actually even surprised me," Rosenstiel said. "I thought going in that there weren't that many Republicans who would be willing to go on the show."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

05/08/08 16:17 EDT

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13 comments

brrrrk 11:48:07 AM May 09 2008

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awheck7 said,

"Oreally is a comedy show only problem is its not funny."

O'Reilly is a comedy of errors...

silentboom 09:07:17 AM May 09 2008

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O' Reilly must be attempting comedy, because certainly nothing he says makes sense. I would like to bust that guy's nose open.

letzdoart 08:59:35 AM May 09 2008

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How can the media possibly overlook the awful things Obama stands for and also the awful friends he has. ARE ALL THE MEDIA MOGULS "DOWN LOW" GUYS?

letzdoart 08:57:10 AM May 09 2008

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MEDIA; WOW ARE YOU EVER SEXIST!!!
Women had to fight for the right to vote in this country. BLACK AND WHITE MEN HAD THE VOTE 75 YEARS BEFORE WOMEN WON THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
Women fought for the right to vote, JUST LIKE HILLARY CLINTON IS FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT OF WOMEN TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF OUR COUNTRY.
It seems you feel the only qualifications needed to become president is having a penis.
Hilary Clinton is SMARTER, STRONGER AND FAR MORE CAPABLE than Obama. She has proven herself as a Politician, Strategist and Person of HIGH INTEGRITY and LOVE OF COUNTRY.

SHE ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A WOMAN!

letzdoart 08:56:36 AM May 09 2008

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Our AMERICAN MEDIA is so biased they should be taken to court for SEXISM. Racism seems to get all the attention, but sexism is rampid among our media.
THEY DO NOT WANT A WOMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE AS PRESIDENT.

WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE A HARD TIME IN EVERY JOB WHEN THEY TRY TO GET AHEAD. USUALLY YOU HAVE A PROBLEM IF YOU ARE NOT BLACK, OR IF YOU DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH.

I would like to see Hillary Clinton as our AMERICAN PRESIDENT.
Black men got to vote 75 years BEFORE WOMEN.. I would like to see a WOMAN get to be president before a black man.

jstoecker53 08:13:57 AM May 09 2008

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Comparing John Stewart to OReilly is an insult to everybody with sense of humor.

samuraipizzacat1 11:31:41 PM May 08 2008

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to bad both Jon Stewart and colbert are always rooting for the democrats. At least they know they are a commedy show while keith olberman is a bias liberal commedian on a news show.