WATCH: Jon Stewart Nails CNN for Using Police Killings as 'Ticker Fare'
Jon Stewart hammered the television news media last night for both absurdity and callousness. On the one hand, on day two of Hillary Clinton's campaign, reporters stampeded after her car in Iowa as if it were an ice cream truck and they were five year olds. On the other hand, some cable news channels are using footage of recent police killings virtually as screensavers.
As more and more videos of these horrendous crimes emerge, television news is already showing itself to be unable to handle them in an intelligent way. Yes, videos like that of North Charleston police officer Michael Slager gunning down Walter Scott are newsworthy and should be analyzed and shown. No, they should not be used in a montage of ticker fare.
“They end up just running as background wallpaper in your discussion,” Stewart said. “Sometimes, it’s the whole f*cking wall. It’s been happening for months now. News shows were looping the Eric Garner choking footage like it was a gif on a Buzzfeed list.”
Meanwhile, the word "fuck" is bleeped out of these videos. Because, you know, kids might be watching.
Watch:
