Mondo Times editors
Boulder, Colorado USA | Posted at 9:50pm on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 |
On January 20, 2009, Kathy A. McDonald of Variety reported on The Daily Show plans for 2009:
With George Bush back in Crawford, Texas, and Barack Obama in the White House trying to deal with the nation's woes, will "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" still have enough satirical fodder for its four-nights-per week/161-episodes-per-year broadcast?
As co-exec producer Rory Albanese explains, the show's objective is to find stories that are not only funny but are meaningful, a directive that comes from the show's top comical voice, Jon Stewart.
"With Bush, we found the narrative pretty quickly. He was doing what he was doing and we were calling him on it," Albanese says, comparing the show's attitude to that of the smart-mouthed kid in the back of class who challenges the status quo.
To respond to the 24-hour news cycle, the show has developed a streamlined approach to developing stories. A team of eight in the studio production department constantly monitors the news network and wire feeds, recording and then editing choice bits. All the show's writers and studio producers stay connected by email, and when something stands out, the clip is quickly disseminated. Stories can be rapidly turned around -- much the same as a "real" newsshow.
"There's just so much planning you can do," Albanese explains. "We find that when we plan too far ahead, stuff doesn't feel organic and natural as when we're in the fray."
In addition to the nightly sendup of news (and often news orgs), "The Daily Show" has patented the offbeat field report: narratives that are more than just interviews with crazy people (although there seems to be an endless supply).
As Albanese explains, "The field producers go out all around the country and whittle down hours of footage into these four-minute golden nuggets of comedy that tell a story."
Unlike legit news orgs, "The Daily Show's" field reports are preconceived and come from staffer and writer pitches that begin with the actual story coupled with "The Daily Show" point-of-view, and even though the show's irreverent tone is well publicized, there's never a shortage of folks willing to be interviewed on TV. Maybe the thought of acting as an authority about a particular subject weighs more heavily that than the thought of being mocked on national television.
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While Comedy Central makes me laugh and often has rare insight into current events, I would hardly call it a news outlet.
Granted, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report make a comic attempt at being newsworthy, I would not want to count on their "coverage" to make important decisions about the country.
That said, I enjoy both shows for what they are: Comical stabs at making the news funny and pointing out the absurdities we live with every day.
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