The Daily Show has as much substantive news as network news. And is far less likely to make me want to throw something at the TV, it should be noted.
“It should be noted that the broadcast network news stories about the presidential election were significantly shorter, on average, than were The Daily Show with Jon Stewart stories,” said Professor Fox. “The argument could be made that while the amount of substance per story was not significantly different, the proportion of each story devoted to substance was greater in the network news stories … On the other hand, the proportion of stories per half hour program devoted to the election campaign was greater in The Daily Show.”
Bonus quote:
Is it time to tune out World News Tonight and tune into The Daily Show? Professor Fox doesn’t think so, saying that “we should probably be concerned about both of those sources, because neither one is particularly substantive. It’s a bottom-line industry and ratings-driven. We live in an ‘infotainment’ society, and there certainly are a number of other sources available.”
Not So Fast 