Daily Show, the

The Daily Show is a nightly news satire program on the cable network Comedy Central that is usually seen by a total of more than 4 million viewers Monday through Thursday. The show was spawned in 1996 with comedian Craig Kilborn as the lead anchor, followed by Jon Stewart in 1999 when Kilborn left to host a late night program on CBS.

Unlike other nightly comedy shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Daily Show stands out as a program that satirizes the traditional TV news format, simultaneously jabbing contemporary journalism and the current events it covers. The show begins with a 6- or 7-minute monologue from host Jon Stewart, sitting at an officiallooking desk much like Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings did during their respective nightly newscasts. The monologue consists of brief jokes beginning with factual current events information, followed by a sarcastic or satirical punch line.

So, whereas some media critics may lament young Americans' loyalty to a farcical news program, viewers must actually be briefed to some extent on pertinent current events in order to understand the humor and find it amusing.

The monologue is usually followed by a “mockumentary” which mixes clever and frequent off-color reporting with unusual or scandalous topics. This portion of the show has in the past covered topics ranging from online divorce proceedings to turtle festivals in the southeastern United States.

A celebrity interview segment is the last portion of the program, and this is where The Daily Show demonstrates its importance in contemporary politics. From the time a sunglasses-wearing Bill Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show in the early 1990s, politicians have recognized more and more the utility of appearing on entertainment programs, particularly comedy shows. The Daily Show has been frequented by such political dynamos as Senators John Kerry and John McCain, Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, U.S. Presidents Clinton and Carter, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who announced his gubernatorial candidacy in California sitting next to Stewart. Similarly, Senator John Edwards declared on The Daily Show his intention to run for president.

So well known is The Daily Show that anchor Jon Stewart has been headlined by Larry King; hosted the 2006 Academy Awards; and, along with other writers from Comedy Central, authored a bestselling book in 2004 titled America (the Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Time magazine listed Stewart as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005. The show has also received considerable attention from scholars because it appears to be a major source of political information for young citizens.