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American Politcs, Comedy Central, Conor Looby, Jon Stewart, jonvoyage, Politics, Satire, The Daily Show, TV
This evening’s episode of The Daily Show will be Jon Stewart final (at least as the show’s anchor), but he has established The Daily Show as an institution and wrote a new chapter on political satire.
Some may recall The Daily Show’s first anchor Craig Kilborn who first chaired the show in the 1996. Kilborn — who was a funny man in his own right — kept the show lighthearted. When Stewart took over in 1999 he maintained similar content in his first few years, which were more playful than serious in a pre-9/11 and Iraq war era.
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The Daily Show really hit its stride in the early and mid 2000s when it began to lambaste, in a rather jovial manner, American politics and the way they are covered in the news media. The show was often at its best when Stewart revealed hidden truths through mockery, which is at the essence of satire. Here is the The Daily Show’s coverage of the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war. which exemplifies this satire.
The show and its format has become so popular that it has spawned a multitude of similar programs hosted by former members of The Daily Show: The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (my personal favorite), The Colbert Report (replaced by The Nightly Show as Coblert moved to CBS), and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). Jon Stewart has done to The Daily Show what Johnny Carson did to The Tonight show; they both established television institutions. Winning 18 Emmys did hurt either (Carson only won one).
Trevor Noah will be taking over The Daily Show this year and it will be tough to fill Stewart’s shoes, but Stewart has established that this show will be around for a long time to come no matter who sits in his chair.
Farewell Mr. Stewart.