The Daily Show finally figures out CNN's absurd obsession with missing flight MH370

The Daily Show finally figures out CNN&#039;s absurd obsession with missing flight MH370

(Image credit: Comedy Central)

last updated 8 January 2015

If CNN's obsessive coverage of the vanished Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 is getting a little threadbare by this point, Jon Stewart's fulsome criticism of the original cable news network never grows old. On Tuesday night's Daily Show, Stewart took another mocking look at the absurd lengths CNN is going to in order to prolong its crash-related ratings bonanza — despite the lack of much actual news. CNN is like that guy at the beach with the metal detector, Stewart said: They keep on thinking they've hit the breaking-news jackpot, only to uncover a bit of metal trash.

And that's what CNN's coverage of MH370 has become: There's lots of trash in the sea; if all else fails, they can make the story about their own reporters covering the search; and speculating about the future is more fun that reporting on the present. Seriously, it's like CNN is bored with the actual news and "no longer wants to be pigeon-holed in the nonfiction section," Stewart said. Ouch. But thanks to CNN, we know that searching the ocean floor for an airplane can take a long, long time. That might be good news for both CNN and Jon Stewart. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.