Daily Show billboard welcoming Republicans to their convention in the Twin Cities

Last week, the New York Times ran a giant article on The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart under the banner headline “Is John Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?”. While some may say that a comedian hosting a fake news show on basic cable can’t possibly be that influential, The Times backed it up with some research:

When Americans were asked in a 2007 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press to name the journalist they most admired, Mr. Stewart, the fake news anchor, came in at No. 4, tied with the real news anchors Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw of NBC, Dan Rather of CBS and Anderson Cooper of CNN. And a study this year from the center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism concluded that “ ‘The Daily Show’ is clearly impacting American dialogue” and “getting people to think critically about the public square.”

Stewart is in Denver this week for the Democratic National Convention (he’ll be in the Minnesota next week for the Republicans) and sat down for a breakfast on Monday with many important members of the television and print media for a round table interview and preceded to criticize basically everyone in the room:

Comedian Jon Stewart had some very unfunny words for the media on Monday, calling cable news networks “a giant monster” and urging newspaper reporters not to fall prey to the 24-hour news cycle.

He urged the print media not to buy into television and campaign spin and to dig deep into stories, even if it means burning bridges with sources and not giving readers exactly what they want. “I think my audience would like to see a naked woman smoking crack… but you’ve got to draw the line,” he said.

He called Fox News’ fake news coverage a “the biggest ‘fuck you’ to people with brains.”

And the best part is they actually listen because they understand his influence almost more than he does. They were watching three years ago when he almost single handedly caused the cancellation of CNN’s Crossfire. He famously went on the show for what the producers thought would be a funny, light hearted interview. Instead, he proclaimed Crossfire was “bad” and “hurting America” and calling the hosts (to their faces!) “partisan hacks” in a sarcastic tone that denoted an underlying seriousness. When the show was axed three months later, CNN chief executive Jonathan Klien commented on the cancellation:

“I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp.”

Here’s the original video which includes some hilarious insults and debate with host Tucker Carlson which ended with Stewart calling him a “dick” on national television:

This week Stewart and the Daily Show continued its assault on the mainstream media tackling stories with a bluntness that no one else does. While many in cable television and print write and report with concern that Clinton diehards who say they will vote for John McCain are a thorn in the side of Barack Obama, Stewart and his team of “reporters” speak the actual truth: those people are just fucking nuts. Watch:

And that was just the first night. They still have three more to go and then they’re off the Minnesota where their targets have been fairly warned by the incoming billboard that they are probably in deep, deep trouble.