Starting sometime around fourth grade, my bedtime began extending towards midnight. That privilege—earned in large part due to whining—was also motivated by my desire to start watching a certain late night television show anchored by a witty, middle-aged comedian.
This marked the beginning of my time as a member of The Daily Show’s audience. For nearly 12 years, sometimes religiously and sometimes intermittently, I have tuned in to watch Jon Stewart. Repeatedly, his commentary gave the stagnancy and frustration of American politicking some much-needed humor. His voice quickly became one I sought after big political news broke, regardless of whether or not his opinion resonated with me. Those nightly monologues chronicled the events occurring over the largest portion of my life, and in many ways acted as my audiovisual timeline of that span. The significance of that role only occurred to me after Stewart unexpectedly announced that he would be leaving "The Daily Show" at some point this year.
Contrary to what most of his critics say, I never really believed that Jon Stewart’s primary ambition was to make people agree him. His clear possession of wit, intellect and empathy made him acutely aware of the increasing flow of misinformation in the world. As a man with 30 minutes of primetime television every night, he chose to take on the pundits and politicians he saw as peddling that misinformation for personal gain. While his ideological views undoubtedly came to surface, the overlying intention was clearly to poke fun at the political landscape’s conceit, and to do a little fact-finding in the process.
People will never forget the jousts with Bill O’Reilly, Jim Cramer and the overwhelming majority of the Fox News’ anchors. However, pinpointing Jon Stewart’s career as an anti-conservative crusader detracts from the genre he has grandfathered.
Over the course of Stewart’s reign on Comedy Central, print and broadcast journalism have undergone rapid and drastic change. No industry has been more defined by the instant access of technology, thirst for around the clock content and glut of advertising revenue. Increasingly, on-air vitriol has been more highly rewarded than a measured dialogue, and pundits’ ability to rant and rave with impunity has transformed the newsroom in to a war room.
Jon Stewart has never been a news anchor, and he would be the first one to tell you that. His job as a comedian is to make people laugh, and given the content of his show it was always going to be at the expense of the political sphere. American politics of the past decade have been marred by hyperpartisanship and stagnancy. A good joke is often funny because there’s some kernel of truth buried in it, and that’s no less true of a political one. Jon Stewart exposed hypocrisy five nights a week, and disenfranchised young Americans loved him for it.
His show and his disciples opened up a new type of political forum. "The Colbert Report" brought political ridicule to new heights, and Stewart’s nightly newscast became a discussion of its own. The fact that Stewart achieved such popularity indicates the weight of his message. The channels of information, our nightly news, had become so muddled and petty that a comedy show had proved to more capably relay the day’s headlines. On top of that, it made political news more accessible and understandable by pointing out the political spin applied by every news station. The Daily Show repackaged headlines with humor and simplicity, and the value of that clicked.
While I do not always agree with Stewart, I have never once doubted how much he cares. Time and time and time again, he has been willing to show that his deepest intentions are rooted in a genuine care for his country and his compatriots. "The Daily Show" is a unique medium, one which gave Stewart total autonomy on how to express himself and his comedy. He has always illustrated that his goal is not to advance a party, a policy or an agenda, but rather to enhance and develop the national conversation. You don’t have to be a journalist to do that, just an articulate, measured voice.
In their youth, my parents would listen to Walter Cronkite read the news every night. Like nearly every other American, Cronkite was a man they trusted to give them the facts, and more importantly, to frame the national discussion. Nowadays, they watch Jon Stewart. "The Daily Show" shouldn’t necessarily be the first stop to get the news, and certainly not the last. However, for the past 15 years Jon Stewart has created a 30-minute venue where the news can be funny, hypocrisy can be shown the door and people can come to conclusions on their own terms. For that, thanks Jon. 11 pm has some pretty big shoes to fill.
Caleb Ellis is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.