FAUX "News"--'Fair and Balanced'*

*Except not so fair or balanced.

I love Jon Stewart and The Daily Show in general, not only because he is hilarious, but also because Stewart very bluntly and often sarcastically points out some of the most obvious political faults and biases we face in the world today. When I heard that Stewart was going on The O'Reilly Factor I could not wait to see what fast ones O'Reilly would try to pull--as he often does to make himself seem more intelligent than he actually is. Turns out I wasn't the only one anxious to see what would unfold.

Recently an editorial came out in TIME magazine critiquing how the intense debate went between Stewart and O'Reilly. The editorial seemed to report what had actually happened during the discussions between the two while also providing personal insight into who the author felt defended his case better. O'Reilly actually managed to pose some insightful questions for once and "Stewart responded truthfully and unrehearsed" the author remarked even when asked about President Obama. Stewart is known to be pretty liberal but still managed to review Obama dispite party lines while applauding him in some areas and not in others. Stewart kept this coy "onlooker" manner throughout the interview which the author liked as well. O'Reilly kept on referring to those who follow Stewart on his show, The Daily Show, are "stoned slackers". The author was quick to point out that O'Reilly's remark was "just a lazy shot" when in fact "[TDS] has one of TV's best-informed news audiences". Stewart's main focus of the evening though was his persistent jab at FAUX News oops, I mean FOX "News" often taking stupid nonsensical stories and blowing it extremely out of proportion [observe the picture I posted along with this entry] as well as the whole "fair and balanced" claim, the author states. The author, and I also, absolutely adore how Stewart sarcastically refers to old, tired, and rehearsed FOX's alleged "selling of the clearest narrative of any news organization". The author didn't rip on O'Reilly too harshly but he definitely applauded Stewart for "winning that battle".

I could not agree with the author of this editorial more. Stewart is amazing at what he does. I don't agree with him just because he is a liberal, it's the fact that he actually takes a thoroughly honest approach when confronting political issues. Other than that, his hilarity is a definite bonus. I often find myself being pretty sarcastic as well when referring to certain politics and policies just because I watch The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live THAT much. Anyways, back to the point, like I had said, I watched Stewart online and I was really proud of him. The reason I watched the interview online was because I had expected FAUX to mess with the tapes and my God, they did! When the show aired, it was an edited version that took out all the parts where Stewart cooked O'Reilly really good. The kicker is that O'Reilly was all over Stewart's case during one segment [OF THAT EXACT INTERVIEW] for editing TDS clips when O'Reilly in fact did it himself! Newsflash O'Reilly, Stewart is on a comedy show not a so-called "news" show like yourself. Also the "stoned slacker" reference O'Reilly made was absolutely pathetic and trashy especially considering how the author pointed out how incorrect that claim really was. Stewart really didn't back down on his morals yet he wasn't a complete douche about his beliefs either--like pretty much every one on FAUX. I agree that Stewart did burn O'Reilly pretty badly when O'Reilly tried to outsmart him, especially with how he started out asking Stewart how he felt about Obama at this point, but it's the fact that O'Reilly hadn't even chose to air the good parts [AKA when he was being burned] which really just shows how hypocritical and sad he is to use is own devices to essentially manipulate the "news" for the public. I especially liked how Stewart mocked the extremely right-winged channel on their brainwashed beliefs that perhaps if THEY think they are "fair and balanced" perhaps OTHER people will as well. Not anyone with a brain for that matter. (: Calling themselves something doesn't make it true--they're only saying what they want to hear. All in all I am very proud with the way Stewart carried himself, he didn't pretend to be someone he's not and still held his head high in a room that despised his guts.

Source: http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2010/02/04/stewart-and-oreilly-taking-on-fox-news-on-fox-news/