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From Classroom Teachers | General ideas for using clips
Campaign specific
With his increasingly popular “news” show on Comedy Central, Jon Stewart has fallen into one of the many spotlights of the 2004 presidential race. This show parodies real news mostly through campaign-related “mock” reporting. In general, The Daily Show is more favorable to the Sen. John Kerry and the Democratic Party. Given the fact that The Daily Show’s audience consists of over 2 million viewers, many of whom are younger voters, what role has the comedian played in this election season? Do you think his show has increased the number of Kerry-supporters? Has it increased political awareness as well as political involvement among voters? Why does The Daily Show cater mostly to the younger electorate?
 Media literacy As noted in this clip, some are critical of The Daily Show and its seeming influence over younger voters. Is this a fair criticism? Is the mission of The Daily Show to entertain its viewers through comedy, or to educate and inform its viewers with daily news? Jon Stewart has officially endorsed Sen. John Kerry as his choice for president. Does he lose his legitimacy by doing this? In this clip, Mr. Stewart justifies the role of his show by saying that a viewer cannot watch The Daily Show without already knowing the “real” news beforehand. He has confidence that his audience is well-informed about current events. Do you think this is true, or do you think viewers rely on his show as their main source of news? Does Mr. Stewart have an obligation to report the news in an unbalanced way?
More ideas Recently, Mr. Stewart appeared as a guest on CNN’s Crossfire. During this appearance he chastised the hosts, particularly co-host Tucker Carlson, for doing a disservice to the nation and lying to the American people. (Read Transcript) Do you think that Mr. Stewart’s conduct was appropriate? Was he justified in his attack of CNN and other media organizations? Are media organizations failing to report the truth and instead reporting “spin?”
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