PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEY100: JON STEWART IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVID REMNICK {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Paley After Dark series. Held at the Crosby Street Hotel in lower Manhattan, this evening focuses on the political satire of comedian Jon Stewart and his Comedy Central program “The Daily Show.” Host Pat Mitchell (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and gives background about the hotel and “The Daily Show,” and then introduces a brief clip package of moments from the show, including Stewart’s collaboration with comedian Stephen Colbert, his interviews with various celebrities, jokes about Fox News and its pundits, and his infamous, elaborate impersonation of conservative commentator Glenn Beck. Moderator David Remnick (editor, New Yorker magazine) and Stewart then take the stage.
The conversation touches on such topics as: the 20-minute Beck impression scene and Beck’s role as a “news performer”; the important distinction of “The Daily Show” as a comedy program rather than a legitimate news source; his effort not to cross “the line of demagoguery” on the show; the way in which the right-wing community is “mistaking losing for tyranny” and suggesting that the liberal side is illegitimate; speculation over whether Beck genuinely cares about his political positions or is just performing; the similarity of his style to stand-up comedy and the ease of Stewart’s impersonation; politicians’ “disbelief” at being unable to understand the thought process of their opponents, with an example regarding George W. Bush; the importance of historical perspective; the right-wing’s opposition to “progressive” action; Stewart’s “great respect” for Fox News and reasons why; how it differs from so-called liberal media; his relationship with “egological” commentator Bill O’Reilly; O’Reilly’s “class resentment” and enjoyment of his role as a “contrarian”; O’Reilly’s opinions on Beck; the use of comedy from within politics; a recent news story about several investment banking firms achieving a “perfect quarter” in which they lost no money whatsoever and the questionable circumstances surrounding the phenomenon; Stewart’s interview with former hedge fund manager Jim Cramer; the dishonesty of the financial press; “The Daily Show” as a “catharsis” for Stewart; his use of his guests’ own words against them via clip reels on his show and their objection to being called out; the show’s lack of impression of itself as “edgy”; the process of finding clips for the show through TiVo and the database LexisNexis; how “jokes don’t work when they’re not true”; technical details about the editing process and advances in the technology used; his opinions about network news and how politicians now control the medium and use it to their advantage; the lack of fact-checking and the need for “gatekeepers”; his own personal political leanings and definition of himself as a “competarian” (i.e., one who desires a competent government); examples of badly-handled government incidents, such as 9/11 and the BP oil spill; whether he has ever “gone too far” with his comments on the show; his lack of concern about the audience’s reactions; and the rehearsal process for the show.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: the decline in CNN’s ratings and his belief that they are badly edited and presented; whether there is a sense of competition between cable networks; his “tenacious, caring and hilarious” staff; the free availability of his programs on the internet and whether viewers should be required to pay; the average ages of his staffers; how the show “reacts organically” to the news stories of the day; how the AP feed used to dictate the show and their gradual shift to a more “pro-active” writing style; the propensity of young viewers regarding the show as a primary news source and why; the importance of what a show calls itself; the long history of political satire and the specific comedic standards to which the show holds itself; his ignorance of his overseas influence; his opinion of MSNBC correspondent Keith Olbermann; the current problems with MSNBC in contrast to Fox; and his challenging interview with news anchor Chris Matthews.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: May 11, 2010 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:08:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 101506
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Host
- David Remnick … Moderator
- Jon Stewart … Guest
- Stephen Colbert
- Jim Cramer
- Glenn Beck
- George W. Bush
- Chris Matthews
- Keith Olbermann
- Bill O'Reilly