2020 General Presidential Election Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

I’ll throw this out there just for fun. I would say that John Stewart’s penchant for representing himself as the only true news source vs just a guy telling jokes depending on the situation did more damage to journalism than Dan Rather ever did. It further blurred the line between news and editorial entertainment and that line didn’t need blurring. Well done satire can be very compelling, but it isn’t news.

Oh brother.

[Joe Public]

I’ll throw this out there just for fun. I would say that John Stewart’s penchant for representing himself as the only true news source vs just a guy telling jokes depending on the situation did more damage to journalism than Dan Rather ever did. It further blurred the line between news and editorial entertainment and that line didn’t need blurring. Well done satire can be very compelling, but it isn’t news.

I remember walking behind what appeared to be two college freshmen; this was back around 15 years ago. I could hear them speaking, and one of them asked the other which local news broadcast he preferred. The response: “I watch The Daily Show.”

[Commando]

NeverTrumpers might just swing the election.

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You are welcome!

Yep. Lots of 'Republicans for Biden' signs here in AZ, too.

[UVACoug]

I’ll throw this out there just for fun. I would say that John Stewart’s penchant for representing himself as the only true news source vs just a guy telling jokes depending on the situation did more damage to journalism than Dan Rather ever did. It further blurred the line between news and editorial entertainment and that line didn’t need blurring. Well done satire can be very compelling, but it isn’t news.

I agree with that to some extent, although Stewart never claimed to be a journalist reporting straight news. John Oliver has carried on his mantle, although I think Oliver (who I find very entertaining and watch consistently) has not been as clear that his "reporting" is just for entertainment purposes. Most of what Oliver comments on is heavily twisted and frequently outright horse crap. It is concerning that people take what he says to be gospel truth, but I'm more concerned by the "stupidity and laziness" of the audience than him saying it in the first place.

[old_gregg]

I’ll throw this out there just for fun. I would say that John Stewart’s penchant for representing himself as the only true news source vs just a guy telling jokes depending on the situation did more damage to journalism than Dan Rather ever did. It further blurred the line between news and editorial entertainment and that line didn’t need blurring. Well done satire can be very compelling, but it isn’t news.

Oh brother.

i actually think there is some truth to this. the ascendance of acerbic, sarcastic, condescending media that's generally less likely to apply the same cynicism to the lib ideology has something to do with the alienation of some folks with conservative inclinations.

[Jeff Lebowski]

i actually think there is some truth to this. the ascendance of acerbic, sarcastic, condescending media that's generally less likely to apply the same cynicism to the lib ideology has something to do with the alienation of some folks with conservative inclinations.

Jon Stewart was funny, dammit. I miss that guy.

Babylon Bee is kind of playing the same role for the other side.

Anyone who views any of this stuff as journalism is dumb.

[Omaha 680]

i actually think there is some truth to this. the ascendance of acerbic, sarcastic, condescending media that's generally less likely to apply the same cynicism to the lib ideology has something to do with the alienation of some folks with conservative inclinations.

Indeed. I actually really enjoyed Stewart in the early aughts. He was very funny and while he gave it to the right more often, he wasn't afraid to skewer the left. Above all he was in it for the jokes. But as the Bush administration wore on he got more condescending, more glib, more dripping with sarcasm at the expense of real insight and humor. He also spawned a whole industry of copycats who were never very funny; they just say something someone on the right said that they disagree with, make a funny face and wait for the audience clapter (I'm looking at you Samantha Bee).

[USUC]

no it's not. social media has just made people so stupid and lazy (or probably just exposed boomers' stupidity and laziness) that they expect spoonfed impartiality (impossible and does not exist) instead of feeling an obligation to critically consume fact-based media.

There is amazing journalism on the local level. There is great journalism in long form publications like the Atlantic. There is great journalism outside of politics. National political journalism has major problems, particularly the 24 hour news journalists and within the legacy publications. The problem isn't journalism just isn't good. The problem is a lack of viewpoint diversity, framing, and selective standards of critical investigation.

[Now who’s the dean?]

There is amazing journalism on the local level. There is great journalism in long form publications like the Atlantic. There is great journalism outside of politics. National political journalism has major problems, particularly the 24 hour news journalists and within the legacy publications. The problem isn't journalism just isn't good. The problem is a lack of viewpoint diversity, framing, and selective standards of critical investigation.

I think we need more donor financed, ProPublica style journalism. And in Utah, http://utahinvestigative.org

[USUC]

I think we need more donor financed, ProPublica style journalism. And in Utah, http://utahinvestigative.org

Thank you for the link. I'll have to look it over.

[old_gregg]

Indeed. I actually really enjoyed Stewart in the early aughts. He was very funny and while he gave it to the right more often, he wasn't afraid to skewer the left. Above all he was in it for the jokes. But as the Bush administration wore on he got more condescending, more glib, more dripping with sarcasm at the expense of real insight and humor. He also spawned a whole industry of copycats who were never very funny; they just say something someone on the right said that they disagree with, make a funny face and wait for the audience clapter (I'm looking at you Samantha Bee).

for the record, i don't fault stewart and co, who are comics selling a wildly popular product. the people i blame are the sensitive, uneducated, working class snowflakes in middle america who interpreted comedy central boneheads making fun of them to mean everybody was laughing at them and reflexively facilitated the election of an unqualified and incoherent moral reprobate who lacks the discpline to take a shit without letting a tweet fly. descriptive only--i will never let the dumbs off the hook for this.

[BigFatMeanie]

Still trying to figure out Ohio.

Son serving in the Columbus Ohio mission is in Mansfield, Ohio, population 46K. He reports that the area is heavily Trump as measured by the number of yard signs and flags that he sees.

[Jeff Lebowski]

WTH?

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[Commando]

WTH?

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lol I see Trump has his head firmly wrapped around the basic tenets of campaign finance laws.

[Jeff Lebowski]

lol I see Trump has his head firmly wrapped around the basic tenets of campaign finance laws.

I guarantee you that like a typical 8-yr-old, his response will be "I was just kidding."