Forgive me for a quick non-political story, but I can’t resist this one. The Television Critics Association announced its nominees yesterday for the best programs of the past year. There was one category, however, that jumped out at me.
In the category of outstanding achievement in news and information, the nominees are ABC’s “Nightline,” CBS’s “60 Minutes,” PBS’s “Frontline,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and — believe it or not — Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
This is truly hilarious.
To be sure, TDS offers political analysis and satire that rivals any news outlet in America. I not only watch the show religiously; I enjoy every episode. Indeed, it was no surprise that the show was also nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, while Stewart was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Individual Comedy. All of the nominations are well deserved.
But what does it say about the state of modern journalism when a self-described “fake-news show” is on par with Nightline, 60 Minutes, Frontline, and Meet the Press? Is it more of a complement to The Daily Show or an insult to the rest of the industry?