Comedy Central's Jon Stewart has apparently taken Walter Cronkite's crown as "the most trusted newscaster" according to 44% of Americans surveyed. And he reports fake news...!
The real news anchors didn't do nearly as well. NBC's Brian Williams got 29%, ABC's Charles Gibson 19% and CBS' Katie Couric 7%. Which has to tease the question: Do Americans prefer to laugh or cry over their headlines?
Two recent real news reports may help you make up your mind:
* The Town Council in Fort Meyers, Florida fired its $100,000/year city manager when they learned his wife was a porn star. They insisted her career was not the issue. Rather, "it was a vote on the credibility and livelihood of our town."
* The British government issued guidelines for civil servants who useTwitter. Twitter message are limited to 140 characters; the government document is 20 pages long.
Perhaps what this tells us is that sometimes we can laugh and cry over the news at the very same time. But then you read the story about childhood Roland McKitrick and Lorainne Beatty. They met 88 years ago in the third grade at English Ridge Public School in Wisconsin. After graduating in 1926, they drifted apart. Recently they met again, and decided it was finally time to marry. Roland is a dashing 93 and Lorraine a mere 92.
Maybe it's true after all. Fact is not only stranger but sometimes sweeter than fiction. And that's the way it is...!
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Jon Stewart isn't always reporting fake news. There is a lot of "real" news in there. As you say...news with a twist. And I think he has the benefit as a political comedian to say the things people like Brian and Katie are THINKING and wish they could say, but can't because of our stiff shirt society!
ReplyDeleteThat's the whole story in a nice nutshell. Guess we need more comedians in the business instead of so many comedians in the news....!
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