Alan C. Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 Dear Stef, Below are compelling reasons to never accept invitations to be interviewed by mainstream news. 'The Daily Show': Intellectually Dishonest about the Intellectually Disabled When I accepted “The Daily Show”'s invitation to be interviewed about my opposition to a minimum wage increase, I knew that I was walking into a trap. But given how counterproductive I know such an increase would be to those the law proposes to help, I took the risk anyway. Of the more than four hours of taped discussion I conducted, the producers chose to only use about 75 seconds of my comments. Of those, my use of the words “mentally retarded” (when Samantha Bee asked me who might be willing to work for $2 per hour – a figure she suggested) has come to define the entire interview. Although I had no intention of offending anyone, I just couldn't remember the politically correct term currently in use (it is “intellectually disabled”). Assuming she knew it, Bee could have prompted me with the correct term, but she chose not to. By including those comments in the final package, “The Daily Show” proved that they did not care who they offended, as long as they could make me look bad in the process. The volume of hate mail I have received in the show's aftermath confirms their success on that front. Huffington Compost ran this: Rich CEO Tells 'Daily Show' The 'Mentally Retarded' Are Maaaybe Worth $2 An Hour Also, the New York Times recently ran a hit piece on the Mises Institute and its associates. Lew Rockwell wrote about the experience. Tom Woods discussed it here: Also see some of my other threads on mainstream media: Mainstream Media = Flacks for the State Glenn Greenwald to leave the Guardian, start own website
NotDarkYet Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I saw the Daily Show for the first time in years. (just moved back to the USA), and it was a show about the minimum wage (they interviewed Peter Schiff). There was zero rational discussion. It was just making fun of people who want wage freedom. And the audience cheered! We're screwed. Anarcho capitialists need an entertainment platform like that.
LiterallySean Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I don't know why people are taking this interview with Schiff on the Daily show so seriously. its not mainstream news, its a half hour comedy show on Comedy Central. If anyone actually relies on Jon Stewart for current events, they are a lost cause or 12.
Wuzzums Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I stopped watching television about 10 years ago. Sometimes though I happen to walk into a room and the TV is on by chance. I remember during the tsunami disaster in Japan the news coverage for added effect put an Enya style soundtrack and did that slowmotion/fastmotion Zack Snyder gimmick whenever they showed the waves destroying houses. It was surreal, am I watching the news or some Hollywood summer flick? It's all showbiz. Nothing seems real anymore, it's all theater. It's at the point where you need to play music in order to hint to the audience what emotion they are required to feel. The Daily Show's mission statement is not to inform, it's to entertain. Nothing wrong with entertainment per se but it's always used when news don't sell, and they'll seek it out wherever they may find it.
dsayers Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 I've avoided "live" entertainment (televeision, radio, etc) almost all of my adult life. If only to avoid the advertisers. I don't remember the last time I saw/heard a commercial that I wasn't able to identify a logical flaw in. Would've been almost two decades ago.
NotDarkYet Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 To address the 'it's only entertainment' question: The Daily Show takes very clear stances on huge issues. And they are clearly presenting opinions on moral issues. So, the extent to which they present right/wrong stances on issues is the extent to which they should be held responsible for their 'entertainment'.
Wuzzums Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 To address the 'it's only entertainment' question: The Daily Show takes very clear stances on huge issues. And they are clearly presenting opinions on moral issues. So, the extent to which they present right/wrong stances on issues is the extent to which they should be held responsible for their 'entertainment'. Yes. I remember this clip of Stewart accusing some news outlet of having an agenda, and they retorted by using the same argument against him to which he said that he has no agenda and The Daily Show is nothing more than entertainment. This really bothered me because it was a clear lie, and it wouldn't have hurt him at all if he admitted it. It's reporting without a spine. They offer the news to their viewers and when things might get serious they hide behind the "it's just a show, it's not meant to be serious" motto.
dsayers Posted January 31, 2014 Posted January 31, 2014 The entertainment is in the delivery. It doesn't alter that what they choose to talk about and what stance they choose to take on it are meant to influence. In this regard, it makes them worse as the entertainment component disarms critical thought even more than just being called news.
Nerburg Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 I don't know why people are taking this interview with Schiff on the Daily show so seriously. its not mainstream news, its a half hour comedy show on Comedy Central. If anyone actually relies on Jon Stewart for current events, they are a lost cause or 12.Just pointing out that it's a fairly common meme, at least around hereabouts in liberaland, that Comedy Central's the daily show and Colbert report are better news outlets than the mainstream news networks.
Mike Fleming Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 The Daily Show are heavily invested in the left liberal philosophy. That is the audience they have cultivated for many years and which provides them with their views and by extension their advertising money. Now libertarian free market ideas are slowly starting to pull people away from that philosophy. The Daily Show sees the threat to their income and the space they have created for themselves and is acting to nullify it by discrediting it. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." The attacks are really building up now, but it's really just a prelude to our victory.
fractional slacker Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 Slightly OT, but along the same lines of how retarded and conformist TV has become.
LanceD Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I don't know why people are taking this interview with Schiff on the Daily show so seriously. its not mainstream news, its a half hour comedy show on Comedy Central. If anyone actually relies on Jon Stewart for current events, they are a lost cause or 12.Because people think the Daily Show is an entertaining way to get their news.
nathanm Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I see nothing has changed on the Daily Show since I watched it years ago. It's the same smug editing and tone used to mock whomever they are interviewing. It's just a dumb concept, trying to mash together serious issues with comedy in that manner. You can mock things that are more broadly agreed upon, but when you're talking about something like minimum wage with measurable effects making jokes based upon objectively false premises is just stupid. It would indeed be pointless to go on a show like that. We already have the antidote to mainstream news and gazillions of hours worth. Slickly produced propaganda served up in easy to swallow segments is old school and deserves to die. The internet offers you the means to really see what any person is really about. Anyone can be made to look like a goofball within some short, tightly edited piece; even people we might all disagree with passionately probably would look less insane when removed from this sort of production value. The other thing that's complete bullshit is the idea of "it's just comedy". Nonsense. Comedians don't usually say things that are the opposite of what they believe. The tone and delivery is all that's different. The producers of the Schiff segment genuinely believe that raising the wage is a great idea and that Schiff is some rich asshole who doesn't have a clue. Just because it's delivered with a light tone means nothing, you still know where people stand on their beliefs when they are making comedy.
Cosmin Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Peter Schiff talking about the Daily Show interview (starts at minute 4) http://schiffradio.com/site/rd?satype=2&said=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fschiffradio.com%2Fdownloadsecurity%3Furl%3DaHR0cDovL2ZldGNoLm5veHNvbHV0aW9ucy5jb20vc2NoaWZmL2F1ZGlvL3BhXzIwMTQwMjAzamdhcF9sb3cubXAzKip8MTM5MTUxNTgzMzk1MioqfA%3D%3D.mp3 ( http://schiffradio.com/ -> February 3 -> Download )
nathanm Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 “The Daily Show's double standard needs to end. It is either pure comedy, with no actual relevance to legitimate political discourse, or it is news -- it can't be both." Exactly!
dsayers Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 “The Daily Show's double standard needs to end. It is either pure comedy, with no actual relevance to legitimate political discourse, or it is news -- it can't be both." Exactly! Why not? Something can be both honest and entertaining. I understand that the Daily Show specifically tries to hide behind whichever categorization is most comfortable in the moment, but this doesn't preclude the possibility to be both comedic AND accurate.
fractional slacker Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 The other thing that's complete bullshit is the idea of "it's just comedy". Nonsense. Comedians don't usually say things that are the opposite of what they believe. The tone and delivery is all that's different. The producers of the Schiff segment genuinely believe that raising the wage is a great idea and that Schiff is some rich asshole who doesn't have a clue. Just because it's delivered with a light tone means nothing, you still know where people stand on their beliefs when they are making comedy. Agree. It's not comedy for comedic sake. It's comedy with a distinctive lefty political bent. They will never admit it, but empiricism don't lie. This is the result of 12 years of statist school. Folks have some intelligence. But they have little/no philosophical perspective or moral compass. Everything is relative and subjective. So they use sarcasm, snarky comments, and have the whole nothing really matters nihilistic approach to matters of substance to mask their confusion. Enter the Jonathan Leibowitzs of the world to capitalize on their disconnect from reality.
Livemike Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I don't know why people are taking this interview with Schiff on the Daily show so seriously. its not mainstream news, its a half hour comedy show on Comedy Central. If anyone actually relies on Jon Stewart for current events, they are a lost cause or 12. Actually Jon Stewart is considerably better than many mainstream "news" shows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtDJ6Ay4QMw
LiterallySean Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Actually Jon Stewart is considerably better than many mainstream "news" shows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtDJ6Ay4QMw I agree and i do like the daily show, in fact i usually watch it to get news. I just don't ever really listen to the "political analysis".
corpus mentium Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 It's pretty revolting. Hopefully the silver lining in this obvious ratings stunt is that Schiff will get and hopefully enlighten some new viewers. Sam Seder and Cenk Uygur have demonstrated their acumen regarding this event. It's a good thing that they dug deeper than what was aired on The Daily Show, since they are also in the industry and would likely not fall for or employ such editing shenanigans. Gotta love the(ir) "truth". I thought these guys had problems with tactics of the MSM. Maybe they meant that those tactics were bad only when it didn't suit their agendas.
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