"The Daily Show" Feels Queer and Loathing In D.C.

The problem with Stewart's coverage is that he took our protest, and largely used it as a platform for his own protest - of Fox News.... And that diminished the supposed subject matter.

This IS the Daily Show.  On Comedy Central.  What am i missing? 

It's Comedy Central. Their lead in is a show that tells dick jokes. It is a FAKE NEWS SHOW. (and actually tells better news than actual news outlets.) You're really making a big deal out of nothing.

 

I highly enjoyed his commentary and John Oliver's piece was pretty silly. Not as funny as the tea baggers, but I still laughed. And the interviewees seemed pretty intelligent and knew it was for the Daily Show and not Katie Couric.

 

So drink your juice, Shelby. Everything's all right.  

I think you are being a little too sensitive on this.  His coverage showed the idiocy of DADT... He showed the sheer volume of protesters and he made a point of how the "mainstream" news outlet totally ignored us.  His piece was filled with shots of the protesters and he even gave the numbers.  All this while showing the hypocrisy of FoxNews. 

Would you have the same beef if it was some other topic?

Then, they had Jon Oliver's piece.  Although not as strong as other pieces he has done, it did point out that our demands aren't as militant as others say they are.

Overall, The Daily Show dedicated almost 9 minutes of a 23 minute broadcast (almost 40% of total air time) to the march.  How is this in the least bit disappointing?

I was disappointed as well, especially considering that the night before Stewart said they would cover the march the next day.  Instead of getting to the substance of the reasons activists were marching, it was a vehicle to take a swipe at Fox News.  We already know Fox News is a conservative POS that bathes in hypocrisy.  There wasn't any analysis of the issues - marriage equality, DOMA, DADT, hate crimes, etc.  Now there have been other times The Daily Show went into the issues.  It just felt to me that last night was a missed opportunity.

I was disappointed as well, especially considering that the night before Stewart said they would cover the march the next day.  Instead of getting to the substance of the reasons activists were marching, it was a vehicle to take a swipe at Fox News.  We already know Fox News is a conservative POS that bathes in hypocrisy.  There wasn't any analysis of the issues - marriage equality, DOMA, DADT, hate crimes, etc.  Now there have been other times The Daily Show went into the issues.  It just felt to me that last night was a missed opportunity.

It was funny, I didn´t see anything wrong with it. Also the guys being interviewed showed that "the gays" are a really diverse group of people, just like anyone else. Too bad the same diversity isn´t represented in any tv-show or certain websites dealing with gay themes.

... I loved last nights show ... Jon has to make fun of something and the cable news networks are certainly a perfect target ... Jon did a great job with his coverage ... 

I think the reason some of us were disappointed with the coverage is that we have come to rely upon this show and Colbert to actually cover the news, albeit in a joking manner.  The sad fact of the matter is that they actually do more real journalism than the actual news networks, especially when it comes to subjects that concern us.  While they are not the only source, it feels like it at times.  Especially considering the dismal coverage, or lack there of, on every major network.  It's pathetic when a bunch of easily swayed bigots get more coverage than a worthy cause.

Stewart was brilliant...he was making us the target of his satire while at the same time pointing out to America how IDIOTIC it is not to recognize us and accept us as equals...Stewart was treating us as EQUALS and it was delicious......

During Oliver's sketch, the people he was trying to trick actually had a chance to mention the reasons they were protesting (i.e DADT, Marriage, Equality, etc.). It's a comedy show so there had to be a shtick, even if it was that funny. I know that Stewart's lead-in was less about substance but he had to make it funny. He could have made a parody of the parade but in doing so it may have diminished its importance. It was clever to use the Fox analysis as the punchline. This way people were allowed to laugh "with" and not "at" the protestors.

This segment is brilliant. John Stewart is primarily a media critic. So he criticized the media. He doesn't merely snipe at Fox news, he succinctly criticizes every cable news outlet there is. Criticizing the lack of coverage given this event by the mainstream media is as significant as any of the issues discussed at the march. Without media coverage, say all you want, as intelligently as you want, and your message is meaningless. If John Stewart doesn't keep the media accountable on their disparate coverage of right wing protests in comparison to progressive protests, then who will? John Stewart's criticism of the media's double standard on the way they cover protests is on point, and America needs to hear more of it. 

I disagree. Like others have said, this is The Daily Show we're talking about, which means about 80 percent of the people who saw it are young, liberal, and already supporters of gay rights. They took the joke that was there and ran with it, all the while being both sympathetic and informative.

At worst, it didn't change any minds. At best, it continues to spread the word that Fox News is anything but "fair and balanced", which in my mind is a win. It's a helluva lot easier to discredit idiots than to get them to play fair.

Personally I found The Daily Show's coverage to by funny. Sure he hijacked the march to attack Fox News, but he would have done that with any liberal march. If a group of pro-lifers had decended on DC and the major new networks didn't cover it, I'm sure Jon would have hijacked that.

I do feel that it was a little heavy handed and totally biased towards Fox. I would have liked it more if he had spent more time slamming CNN and MSNBC for their "limited" coverage of the event.

The only problem I have with the opening segment of the show was it was too easy to use the event to attack the cable news shows. And it just makes me feel that Jon Stewart and the rest of the Daily Show gang is going soft after winning so many Emmys.

Want proof that they might be going soft... How about the night of 06 October when they had Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on the show. Where was the hard hitting questions about DADT? Ed did a great job in pointing out the faults with that interview. It made me a bit angry that Jon had no problem talking about allowing women to serve on subs, but on DADT it was just a thow-away question. He opened strong with the comment of Obama needing to get a bigger plate then pussied out when he had a White House official that could address why they're dragging their feet on the issue.

The second bit with John Oliver just seemed akward. They were trying too hard with that joke.

Jon and company has been one of our stongest allies, and probably will continue to be our friend; they were just too safe with how they handled this.

I'm a fan of the Daily Show but I often get queasy when they tackle gay issues because it is ALWAYS a straight reporter talking about gay people.  Even if the straight Daily Show reporter is well-intended, it often slides into a bit of mockery of gay people.  Can you imagine them always having a white reporter tackling black issues?

Why can't The Daily Show hire a Wanda Sykes or a Mario Cantone to report on gay issues?  It hurts a lot less when we make fun of ourselves than when a straight person does the same thing.