We live in a 24- hour news cycle where nothing stops and nothing stays constant. With so much news being thrown at us, it has become incredibly hard for the American public to digest every piece of information it encounters However, in an age of breaking news every minute, there has also been a rise in a new type of journalism: satire.
Pioneered by the host of the Daily Show, John Stewart, in 1999, political satire has become deeply ingrained in the political landscape we see today. It's a story that has made its impact on history and is tied deeply with the birth of the digital age. As traditional news outlets became obsolete and consumers began to look for more than just the news, the Daily Show stepped up to the plate. What the show did was make news easier to digest by injecting a bit of humor and satire to the delivery. In doing so, they were able to engage an audience that had never been interested in what's going on in the world.
According to the Columbia Journalism Review, hosts like Stewart bridged the gap between serious news outlets and the everyday person. By referencing other news outlets, such as CNN and Fox, Stewart was able to increase engagement that audiences had with these shows. Behind every joke and parody is well thought-out arguments that educated their audiences about the news and lead to further information seeking. What Stewart and the Daily show did that was unlike any other news outlet was connect with their viewers on a personal level. In doing so, they brought the news to a new generation that was very much distanced from the political sphere.
Many people fail to realize just how powerful satire can be. While humor is just a means of conveying information, satire pushes individuals to contemplate what they have heard even further. As explained by McClennan, a professor of international affairs and comparative literature, "What satire does is reveal the folly of the human condition and most, but not all, of satire has a political angle to it. Satire is different from typical political humor because it demands critical reflection on the part of the audience so the laughter isn't the end of the joke." What the late night show hosts of today have been able to do is build off of the legacy of political satire to educate a new generation on the importance of staying up to date with what happens in our world.
SOURCES :
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/how-jon-stewart-changed-the-way-we-talk-about-politics-on-tv-20150806
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/2/6/harvard-political-satire/
http://news.psu.edu/story/143606/2012/12/19/research/satire-shaping-next-generation-american-citizens
Sophia, I thought this was a great topic that was actually very relatable. One of my favorite talk show hosts is John Oliver. He does a show called Last Week Tonight in which he talks about things that happened over the past week, all the while cracking jokes. I watch the show for the comedy, but to your point, there are many times I find myself actually learning something from it. I believe that as long as shows like these are not someone's sole source of news that they can be very effective at sparking people's interest and leading people to be informed citizens. Something that is very important in our current environment.
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