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November 22, 2006
A Conservative "Daily Show"
Well, it's nice to see them copying the left, for a change:
Joel Surnow, co-creator of "24," is shooting two half-hour pilots of a skein he described as " 'The Daily Show' for conservatives," due to air in primetime on Saturdays in January.
If successful, the show could take its place on the regular schedule, adding satire to FNC's formula of news and opinion.
"The way I look at it, almost every comedy show or satire show I see uses the same talking points against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney," Surnow said. "The other side hasn't been skewered in a fair and balanced way."
Do take that last sentence to heart. "Fair and balanced" isn't meant to describe internal Fox programming, it's meant to describe the impact the right thinks Fox has on the debate. In other words, in a liberal media environment, Fox's conservative leanings make the aggregate media coverage more "fair and balanced." It does not mean that Fox's coverage is anything of the sort.
November 22, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
I know "TDS" existed before the advent of the Bush administration, but was it a big hit before then? My guess is, probably not, or at least not nearly as successful as it's been now. If that's the case, we have to wonder why. My guess is, it's not only because the right tends to be more steadfast in its beliefs and thus easier to mock. It's that, when combined with the right's natural stubborness, this administration's particular brand of insanity and idiocy--making blatantly false statements about the budget, denying the reality of the progress concerning the war--combined with the fact that the Democrats haven't had a lot of say in the process, has made it easier for John Stewart and company to do their jobs. In other words, it's not that nobody wants to mock the left; it's that the left hasn't given people nearly as much to mock as the right has.
Posted by: Brian | Nov 22, 2006 3:40:16 PM
First, I don't believe that anyone at FNC thinks "fair and balanced" is more than just some BS slogan.
Second, the reason that Surnow and other conservatives don't think the Left has gotten its fair share of skewering is because they cannot handle any criticism of their point of view or conservative politicians.
So if the Daily Show or anyone else spends 15 minutes making fun of liberals and 15 going after conservatives, it's evidence of liberal bias and the need for a show, blog, column, etc. to add "balance" to the equation.
Posted by: Stephen | Nov 22, 2006 3:40:51 PM
Ridicule in defense of democracy is no crime (to re-cycle a Goldwater phrase in a new and improved version. When a group of folks gets WAY out of sync with the people, ricicule is efficacious and therapeutic.
The problem for the 'right' is that they've tried to ridicule the Dems since the 1960's and the trick no longer works with the people. GrandMom Nancy just isn't seen as a fearsome San Francisco LIBERAL monster.
Maybe the key to understanding when ridicule works is to acknowledge that SOME truth must be behind the charge, and the conservatives just don't speak ANY truth anymore.
Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Nov 22, 2006 4:06:09 PM
Kinda like Rush Limbaugh saying he doesn't need to report things in a balanced way because he IS the balance against liberal media. I'm down with Brian, the Bush administration simply makes it too easy for comedians. They're a natural study in unintended irony.
Posted by: Sonny | Nov 22, 2006 4:06:33 PM
TDS is successful because it's funny. This little clone is basically guaranteed to be painfully unfunny, like Dennis Miller. And I'm pretty sanguine about Fox throwing money at doomed projects.
Posted by: NBarnes | Nov 22, 2006 4:20:57 PM
I am not sure of the date but Jon Stewart took over for Craig Kilborn and the show got much, much better.
The absurdity that is the Bush Administration certainly helped the show but I think Stewart could have had a field day with the Clinton excesses as well.
Posted by: ellenbrenna | Nov 22, 2006 4:53:30 PM
The "fair and balanced" comment was supposed to be humorous, of course. Like Brit Hume, I'm sure Sunrow said it with a little chuckle.
So if the Daily Show or anyone else spends 15 minutes making fun of liberals and 15 going after conservatives
Does The Daily Show do that? All the stuff I hear from the show (I don't have access to it) is fairly liberal sounding. But then I hear about it from liberals.
I suspect conservatives will find the new show funnier than liberals will. But NBarnes and ellen must be right about the success depending on getting a host as good as Stewart. How likely is that?
Posted by: Sanpete | Nov 22, 2006 5:03:15 PM
SanPete: e.g. Stewart's referred to John Kerry as being "dickish."
With Surnow in charge, one wonders if the audience will be tortured if they don't laugh.
Posted by: Randy Paul | Nov 22, 2006 5:12:41 PM
Jon Stewart took over for Craig Kilborn and the show got much, much better.
Exactly, although to be sure, this administration does make his job a lot easier.
Posted by: fiat lux | Nov 22, 2006 5:17:37 PM
Joel Surnow, who gave us Laura Ingraham's favorite torturer, Jack Bauer.
Posted by: Mickeleh | Nov 22, 2006 5:28:17 PM
Sanpete,
The Daily Show isn't a liberal show - it isn't really about politics. It's a show that satirizes the news media first, and the people and events that comprise the news second. They also go after those in power rather than those who are not.
That's why there's not a whole bunch of jokes about poor people, and that's why the Democrats have not seen TDS really unload on them. However, when a Democrat says or does something stupid or absurd, you can bet that TDS will be there to make fun of them.
I do expect them to take more shots at the Democrats now, but to the dismay of conservatives, it probably won't be just a rehashing of their tired smears and insults thinly disguised as "jokes."
Whatever FNC tries to do, the fact that it has as its goal to be a conservative show, rather than a generally satirical one, is why it will suck.
Posted by: Stephen | Nov 22, 2006 6:29:55 PM
the fact that it has as its goal to be a conservative show, rather than a generally satirical one, is why it will suck.
That would seem to greatly increase the likelihood of failure. I wonder if a similar point applies to Air America. Not the same, but I still wonder if the perceived need for a particular slant is a problem.
Posted by: Sanpete | Nov 22, 2006 7:19:44 PM
The Daily Show isn't a liberal show - it isn't really about politics. It's a show that satirizes the news media first, and the people and events that comprise the news second.
Indeed; it astonishes me how many people seem to miss this point. Especially, you know, those in the news media.
Posted by: Quarterican | Nov 22, 2006 8:23:33 PM
I have a great idea for a host. Dennis Miller, on prime time in cable. We can merge comedy and right-wing ideology. It can't miss!
Oh. Wait.
Posted by: Chris R | Nov 22, 2006 9:26:42 PM
Ha! Dennis Miller has been unfunny for years and somehow I can't see the co-creatoer of "24" bristling with humor. DS picks on stupidity and hypocricy and frankly the Repubs have a been a very heavy on both as of late. Not that Dems are short on either but theren't weren't as many of them to pick on these past few years. Besides, the Right tends to take a holier than thou approach to everything which is just asking to be satired.
The Fox alternative will fail because their focus is to be a conservative counter to the DS, except the DS isn't liberal. The ratings failure for this is right there in the game plan. That and it's on Fox and while they are a joke, they're certainly not funny.
Posted by: Fred F. | Nov 22, 2006 10:55:12 PM
I wonder if a similar point applies to Air America.
I think so. Of course, it was exceptionally poorly run, but even so if liberals had actually been looking for the mirror opposite to conservative talk radio, they would have been able to make it work.
Me-too-ism isn't usually a winning strategy.
Posted by: Stephen | Nov 22, 2006 10:56:07 PM
Me-too-ism isn't usually a winning strategy.
I believe you are right. Air America proved that.
Posted by: Fred Jones | Nov 22, 2006 11:00:50 PM
TDS definitly have a liberal slant, but I don't think it's partisan and plenty of democrats have come in for their fair share of roasting. I have a feeling they are going to have a hard time making a good conservative counterpart because Stewart and his fake correspondants (especially Steven Colbert) have established such a strong link between empty, self self-righteous suits and conservatives.
However, the conservative show will have one thing going for it -- the democrats are now in control of two houses of congress. It's always funnier to make fun of those in power than those who are, you know, not.
Posted by: Battlepanda | Nov 22, 2006 11:18:20 PM
Try to imagine if this conservative Daily Show had been around during the Hurrican Katrina aftermath...
Posted by: Chris | Nov 22, 2006 11:52:49 PM
A couple earlier commenters hit the same point I would make, that The Daily Show is funny because it prefers to mock the media's coverage of people in the news, rather than directly mocking people in the news. Although it does the latter as well, the biggest laughs for me are from watching clips of pundits making fools of themselves on camera.
This may be a good "Put your money where your mouth is" test for those who still think the media has a liberal bias. If so, then they should be easy targets for laugh-out-loud conservative humor, yes?
Posted by: PapaJijo | Nov 22, 2006 11:53:09 PM
TDS was a 'fake news show' even in the Kilborn days, except that it was closer to a parody of local news and Couric-style network fluff.
(An odd bit of trivia: Ali G and Borat started out on the British knock-off of the Kilborn-era Daily Show; it also gave Ricky Gervais his first TV break.)
As for the 'fair and balanced' thing, I've lost track of the number of wingnut welfare recipients who've showed up to plug their POS books in the interview segment. Most get a fair hearing (with a few exceptions, such as bullshitter Stephen Hayes).
Posted by: pseudonymous in nc | Nov 23, 2006 8:12:23 AM
Air America proved that.
Er, no. But nice try, Jim.
Posted by: pseudonymous in nc | Nov 23, 2006 8:14:17 AM
TDS is plenty conservative -- if you think intelligence, consistency in principles, and respect for the Constitution are conservative values. OK, were.
Of course, by "conservative" Surnow means "subservient." So the show is already hilarious, the very idea of it.
Meanwhile, let's think of a name for this show. Maybe a Cheney reference: "Shoot Off Your Mouth."
Posted by: dswift | Nov 23, 2006 9:14:50 AM
The problem is that, even if there were a persistent bias in the media as a whole (and I'm not convinced there is), the answer is not more bias from the other side.
Posted by: Narc | Nov 23, 2006 10:55:14 AM
Now, Colbert Report seems consistently liberal, because it parodies O'Reilly and company. Hopefully these people will make "a conservative Colbert Report", thereby showing their grand ability to miss the point.
Posted by: hf | Nov 23, 2006 10:55:51 AM
The Daily Show is a fake news program on a comedy channel. This new project will be a fake comedy program on a news channel. (insert joke about Fox being a fake news channel here)
Tom Tomorrow once hit on the problem here, and I find myself quoting it again and again:
A conservative "writes as though he's heard of satire, but never actually experienced it firsthand."
Posted by: Constantine | Nov 23, 2006 11:00:26 AM
Why bother? The demographics for Fox News Channel show a pretty uniformed group - I don't think they will appreciate programming with irony, satire and wit.
Posted by: CParis | Nov 24, 2006 10:32:33 AM
The demographics for Fox News Channel show a pretty uniformed group - I don't think they will appreciate programming with irony, satire and wit.
Yeah, they don't deserve to vote.
Posted by: Fred Jones | Nov 24, 2006 3:17:57 PM
This kind of ties in with Brian's point: IIRC, Jon Stewart on TDS did not endorse a candidate but did say: "Tomorrow, when you vote, make my life difficult."
Posted by: hoedown | Nov 25, 2006 7:40:53 PM
Yeah, they don't deserve to vote.
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