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Jon Stewart’s message to the media

There are many different interpretations of what Comedy Central’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” yesterday evening (this morning Sydney time) achieved or didn’t achieve. Its message (successful or not, fleeting or long-lasting) of reason has more relevance for American politics in the lead-up to the mid-terms on Tuesday.

But Stewart’s speech at the end of the rally did touch on the diviseness of mainstream media. It’s probably more apparent to people outside the US that a fair bit of the journalism produced in that country is reactionary and insular. But that’s a criticism not limited to the US. The media here in Australia and in plenty of other countries is struggling to fulfil its value to society as the fourth estate.

I don’t believe in the hypodermic needle model of mass media - I think the role of journalism (new or old) in society is much more subtle.

Stewart’s message is not new, and it’s easier to criticise than to create. But it’s a timely reminder that bad journalism, like good journalism, has the potential to make a difference on how society views itself, and talks about and understands the issues that affect it.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

The country’s 24-hour political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous flaming-ant epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.  

The press is our immune system. If we overreact to everything, we actually get sicker - and perhaps eczema. 

Here’s a link to Stewart’s full speech.

I’ve posted some signs from the rally at the National Mall in Washington, DC, above. Here’s more from buzzfeed, Dan Ilic and Kyle Rush, and a wrap of the event by the Associated Press: In election’s shadow, rally draws laughs, activism.