AU senior Nellie Ghandar settles back into the sofa and laughs as Jon Stewart, host of the "The Daily Show," describes in mock seriousness the signing of an interim constitution by the Iraqi Governing Council as the first step in the American "Operation Get Us the Hell Out of Here."
"[Stewart] tells it like it is," Ghandar said. "He doesn't patronize you. This is smart humor."
Ghandar regularly reads The New York Times and The Economist, and watches late night shows as a secondary information source.
Programs such as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" or "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," that mix information with entertainment should supplement the evening news and the local papers, not displace them according toMatthew Felling, director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
"These shows should be one small part of your news diet," Felling said. "'The Daily Show' should be the dessert, not the main course."
Although young viewers find Stewart's dry assault on public officials and the media amusing, those who turn to the program as their primary source of information often remain ignorant of basic political facts, Felling said. Two-thirds of people who relied on comedy shows for news could not name which Democratic presidential candidate served as an Army general and which was House majority leader, according to a poll the Pew Research Center did earlier this year.
However, these results do not discourage young viewers. More than 21 percent of people aged 18 to 29 cited "The Daily Show" and "Saturday Night Live" as places where they consistently learn presidential campaign news.
When Pew asked the same question four years ago, nine percent of young people pointed to comedy shows as their news source.
Felling himself occasionally watches "The Daily Show" and understands its appeal.
"It is bold, witty and intelligent satire," he said, "but these comedians are simply using politicians and current events to package their jokes."
These shows attract a younger generation that demands instant gratification because they condense complex, topical issues into a single point that viewers can easily absorb, Felling said.
They aim to entertain, however, and not inform the audience. Viewers who do not distinguish this goal do a disservice to themselves, he said. Wendell Cochran, head of AU's journalism department, agrees.
"Humor has a place in political culture," Cochran said. "The more self-important something is the more it deserves the needle. What would concern me, though, is to think that students are merely watching these shows and assume they are getting the full report."
Stephan Colbert, a correspondent on "The Daily Show," seems to agree. He told The Union Leader, a newspaper in Manchester, N.H., "You shouldn't listen to us if you're looking for information. We don't take ourselves seriously on any level; we're just comedians. We're a fake news show"
