When comedian John Stewart is confronted about the fact that The Daily Show has political clout, he often shrugs the allegations off, pointing out that his show is on Comedy Central. His argument is that because his show comes after "puppets making crank phone calls," he can't be held accountable for what goes on during his segment. In this way he's able to evade criticism about what he says on his show.
Personally, however, I don't think that this is an excuse. It's true that John Stewart is not an official news source, and it's true that the show is touted by its producers as a comedy show. However, this doesn't change the fact that when it comes down to it, people are still not only getting their cues about what’s important in the world from the daily show, but are also formulating their opinions about these issues from his show. As we saw from the New York Times article that we read for class, John Stewart has political power, and people listen to what he says.
Therefore, I don’t think Stewart should shirk his responsibilities. While it’s true that he certainly is not a conventional news show and thus is not a conventional news source, that doesn’t take away from what viewers are taking away from his show. No matter what absurd show precedes him, John Stewart is an important voice in the political world, in the same way CNN would still be important even if it came after Sesame Street.
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