8 years ago the the man who "is either the funniest smart man or the smartest funny man on tv", The Daily Show's very own, Jon Stuart, was a guest on the CNN political talk show "Crossfire". The show's hosts where expecting to have a light, entertaining interview, maybe jab a few jokes at some politicians, and call it a day. What they got might have been the reason the show is now off the air for good.
Jon's sarcastic yet serious message was a warning; "You're hurting America". He criticized the show for helping politicians and corporations to promote their agenda without honesty or integrity, and pointed out the media's unethical standards. He even noted that the meeting place for talk show hosts after a show has taken place has been dubbed "spin alley". Now that we face yet another presidential election, is it fair to ask who we can and cannot trust on the news? In this article, we hope to find out.
There is a war going on in America. Not the Afghan War or the War on Drugs, but an even more sinister one, fought by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country. More than 481 million dollars was spent on campaigning in the last presidential election. It is clear that some people want their way, no matter the costs. It's hard to decide if a news station is being honest, considering all the money they receive for advertising. Some are obviously slanted, such as Fox News, which usually favors Republican candidates and spends a good deal of time belittling Democrats. But even supposably fair and balanced shows like "Crossfire" seem to have a political agenda, and the overall idea is to say whatever it takes to get elected. In the Republican primaries this year, we saw candidate Ron Paul allowed to speak less than 75% as much as some other candidates during the debates, which are usually hosted by CNN or similar broadcast networks. The idea of special interests is not new, it's the fact that so few point it out that's appalling. TV "news" shows like "Hanity" and "Hardball with Chris Mathews" consistently edit tapes and twist words to suit their needs. It has always been said that the deceiver will appear as a decent man in nice clothes, so it is up to America to make their decision in 2012. This writer is only holding out hope for 2016.
Jon Stuart on the Crossfire interveiw
