"Seriously, guys, what are we doing here?" Jon Stewart asked of the news media on Wednesday night's Daily Show, implicitly placing himself inside the TV journalism category and setting it up for a good tongue-lashing. First on his agenda was the embarrassing spectacle of reporters chasing Hillary Clinton's "Scooby Van" in Monticello, Iowa, on Tuesday, hoping for a shot of her... leaving the van and entering building?
"Last time anyone in Iowa was this excited about a wheeled vehicle, the Wells Fargo Wagon was bringing instruments they'd ordered from a charismatic stranger," Stewart quipped, showing off his keen knowledge of musical theater. "There are a lot of good reasons for you to be chasing a van," he added, like "if the van, perhaps, was the Good Humor truck, and you were 5."
Then Stewart put on his serious media criticism hat, pleading with news networks to stop casually and gratuitously replaying video footage of police killing people, saying that repetition robs the images of their potency and dehumanizes the victims. "We've got to nip this trend in the bud, because unlike Blockbuster, these types of videos aren't going away," he said. "The ubiquity or cellphones is far outpacing police awareness of the ubiquity of cellphones." Well, at least for now. Watch below. —Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 1 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Labor Day picnic, branding strategy, and more
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
When does autumn begin?The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
