More Jon Stewart… and more Jon Stewart….
: Howard Kurtz has a very good page-one story in the Washington Post on the Jon Stewart phenom today (I’m quoted).
: Stewart is the subject of 60 Minutes tomorrow night, too.
: From Kurtz’ story:
“Even I’m sick of us,” says Ben Karlin, the show’s executive producer. But “the media beast must be fed,” he added, amused that the show is being hyped by the “pack journalism” it regularly ridicules.
: Law Dork Chris Geidner sees significance in Kurtz quoting bloggers alongside real newsmen about the fake newsman.
Although it shows great progress that The Washington Post cited three Web sites — including two blogs — in a front-page story, the “idea integration” is just beginning. Bloggers who wish to add to the public dialogue have a responsibility not to just become more “talking heads.” As bloggers become more mainstream, there will be moments — like Cox’s MTV stint during the Democratic National Convention — to become “one of them.” And that’s fine.
But it’s important that we don’t leave the ideas behind on our laptops. Jarvis, for example told Kurtz of Stewart: “He calls politicians bozos. And then he went over the next line on ‘Crossfire’ and called media guys bozos.” Jarvis helped move the discussion he’s been having on the blogs to the rest of the world.
Like Stewart, some of the top bloggers are having to deal with the question: What happens when your Web log, or “blog,” project is legitimized (and loses scare quotes)? What changes? What stays the same?
Stewart, Cox, and Jarvis bring us no answers in today’s Post, but Kurtz’s article certainly highlights the questions.
: I will also note the irony that I praised Stewart for going after the yellers for yelling and then I appeared on CNBC’s Capitol Report and faced a bozo nutjob and right-wing media conspiracy theorist Bob Kohn and what could I do but point my finger at him and raise the volume? But Stewart’s lesson isn’t to lower the volume. It’s to be honest and call a bozo a bozo.
