Stewart Stuffs Crossfire

Jon Stewart said yesterday on CNN's Crossfire that the show is hurting America. Get a transcript, download an mp3, and if you can figure out BitTorrents, you can get the video, too (all links from Scripting News). Wow. I didn't see it, but I listened to it and it's incredible. Tucker Carlson told Stewart he should get a job at a journalism school; Stewart replied seriously: “You need to go to one!” Salon's Charles Taylor says Stewart's appearance was completely consistent with his stance on his own show and I tend to agree:

Stewart's “Crossfire” appearance is going to generate talk about how prickly he was, how he wasn't “nice” like he is on “The Daily Show.” But prickliness is just what was needed. If you've built your reputation as a satirist pointing out how the media falls down on the job, you're not going to make yourself a part of their charade.

Will this cause mainstream journalists to do a serious gutcheck? Probably not, but maybe a ball is now rolling that will lead there eventually. Thanks, Jon. Early stories about this elsewhere:

• Jon Stewart Torches from the NY Daily News
• Left Hooks and Right Jabs: Stewart Tangles With Carlson from WaPo
• Jon Stewart bitchslaps CNN's 'Crossfire' from MTV News
• JT Juice 10-16 From Journal Times Online (Wisc.)
• Jon Stewart to Tucker Carlson: “You're a dick.” from Alternet

Posted 06:34 AM | Comments (4) | election 2004