It’s Time to End the Writers’ Strike
posted by Adam Kolber
When I posted about The Daily Show writers’ strike video nearly a month ago, one commenter said that he was “seriously jonesing for the Daily Show.” By now, he must be having cold sweats. What I find most interesting about the radio silence of The Daily Show (and of late night talk shows) is that many people depend on these shows to keep up with current events. Consider Thomas Friedman’s column yesterday that was presented as though it were written by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. Here’s an excerpt:
For instance, CNN’s nightly business report is hosted by a man named “Dobbs.” Real journalists come on his show and present transparently propagandistic stories about immigration and trade and then he fulminates about them, much the way our ayatollahs used to do about “Satanic Americans” on late-night Iranian TV. So viewers have no real idea what’s happening in the U.S. economy.
Meanwhile, at 11 p.m., something called “The Daily Show,” which appears on Comedy Central, has fake journalists presenting what turns out to be the real news.
(Of course, the irony here is that Friedman himself is adopting the fake news format to make a real news point.) I don’t watch enough Lou Dobbs to comment, but I do watch enough of “The Daily Show” to know that the writers’ strike must be having political ramifications. Some politicians are getting a free pass that they wouldn’t get with Stewart and Colbert on the air. It’s time to end the writers’ strike. Or the terrorists win.
It looks like there’s some progress in labor talks, so stay tuned. And, now, here it is, your moment of zen.
December 6, 2007 at 7:34 am
Posted in: Employment Law
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