Study: Jon Stewart IS real news... ish.

Evan Derkacz
October 05, 2006News & Politics

"Interestingly, the average amounts of video and audio substance in the broadcast network news stories were not significantly different than the average amounts of visual and audio substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart stories about the presidential election," according to a new Indiana University study by Julia R. Fox and two grad students, Glory Koloen and Volkan Sahin.

We've known for a while that viewers of the Daily Show "scored higher than those who consumed any amount of network news, any amount of newspapers, or one to three days of cable news; young Daily Show viewers scored the same as young viewers who watched four or more days of cable news." This latest study adds another layer to the scrumptious torte of satire's legitimacy.

Congress may be hit or miss when it comes to The Daily Show, but kids know what's up.

And despite the cock-n-bull rhetoric about cynicism and voting, the 2004 election saw a nearly 10% increase in the 18-29 vote. So they not only know what's up, they know how to deal with it. Now, for the love of God, leave the damn show alone.

But don't leave network news alone. The fact that they aren't half as intentionally funny as TDS while offering no more factual information should be a source of deep and abiding shame. Note to producers: the answer is not red noses and oversized shoes.

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