otoh

National Public Radio’s All Things Considered recently reported on a political science survey during the 2004 U.S. Presidential election season that concluded

…that participants exposed to jokes about George W. Bush and John Kerry on The Daily Show tended to rate both candidates more negatively…. Moreover, we find that viewers exhibit more cynicism toward the electoral system and the news media at large. Despite these negative reactions, viewers of The Daily Show reported increased confidence in their ability to understand the complicated world of politics. [and...] Although research indicates that soft news contributes to democratic citizenship in America by reaching out to the inattentive public, our findings indicate that The Daily Show may have more detrimental effects, driving down support for political institutions and leaders among those already inclined toward nonparticipation.

You can listen to the brief NPR interview with one of the authors here and read the published study here or here [at least temporarily].

The study singled out “young viewers” (ages 18-24), nearly half of whom watch the show at least occasionally and may be more negatively influenced by it. I’m well outside the target demographic age for this study, but I know that in my case I watch The Daily Show more often now because I’m cynical and not vice versa. If you understand statistical math (or if you don’t and want to risk giving yourself a headache) it’s worth reading the report. Then you can debate whether the study really proves a causal relationship between Daily Show viewership and cynicism.

For many, it’s a classic chicken and egg problem. In my book, John Stewart is a pretty good egg because he sure as hell is no chicken. [Mmmmhhhh... I really strained reaching for that one.] It’s worth noting that “hard” news sources can contribute to cynicism too. Stewart frequently ridicules these on his show and the conclusion of the survey reprints this (classic) exchange when he was a guest on CNN’s Crossfire:

Stewart: In many ways, it’s funny. And I made a special effort to come on the show today, because I have privately, amongst my friends and also in occasional newspapers and television shows, mentioned this show [Crossfire] as being bad…. And I wanted to — I felt that wasn’t fair and I should come here and tell you that I don’t — it’s not so much that it’s bad, as it’s hurting America. So I wanted to come here today and say… Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America…. What you do is partisan hackery…. You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

Tucker Carlson [Crossfire cohost]: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

Stewart: No. No. I’m not going to be your monkey.

God, I love that. To be fair, I have my own reasons for thinking that Tucker Carlson is an idiot that exaggerates to the point of lunacy and if we can’t get CNN to take him off the air (do we still call it “on the air” when it’s on cable?) then we should at least be able to poke him with sticks at every opportunity. In the meantime, I’m getting nostalgic for Paul Simon’s lament, “I get the news I need on the weather report….”

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