Jon Stewart Tells Media To Try Out Journalism Instead Of Bashing Donald Trump
Jon Stewart was one of the most popular and intelligent late night talk show hosts when it came to politics and he was missed a great deal during the 2016 Presidential Election. However, Stewart made a surprise appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show last night and was back on form with some very poignant comments about the current political climate.
It was clear that Jon Stewart was not in any way defending President Donald Trump. He said that Trump lies more in one press conference than CNN lies in an entire year on the air – and Stewart admitted after that he hated CNN and still feels that way. However, the harshest Jon Stewart Donald Trump comments came against the media.
Jon Stewart said that Donald Trump had broken up with the media, and that is because the United States President is as “thin-skinned and narcissistic as you are.” However, Jon said the media needs to just move on and has some interesting advice.
“It is time for you to get your groove back media, cause let’s face facts, you kind of let yourself go a little bit… obsessing 24-hours a day, seven days a week about this one guy… Take up a hobby. I recommend journalism.”
That statement seems harsh but it also makes sense. It seems like no matter what television network a person turns to, the media is talking about their relationship with President Donald Trump while there are many world and national issues that could take precedence.
Similar strained relationships took place many years back with Richard Nixon but two reporters – Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward – ignored most personal attacks and just focused on the journalism required to expose the Watergate Scandal.
Even former President George W. Bush came out on the Today show and gave his opinion on the media and their relationship with President Trump. Much like Jon Stewart’s Donald Trump thoughts, President Bush said that the media is important.
“We needed the media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive, and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power.”
With that said, Jon Stewart made it clear that the media needs to practice good journalism by keeping things non-biased and honest or people will stop believing the truth when presented to them.
Journalism ethics is a college course that all professionals take and it is important to remain ethical when covering the United States President. Bush said that it is important to keep this media completely open and independent.
“It’s kind of hard to tell others to have an independent free press when we’re not willing to have one ourselves.”
The attacks have become very personal lately. Vanity Fair reported that when Donald Trump refused to attend the White House Correspondents Association it proved he was winning the war against the media. The win came when the organization’s president defended President Trump’s decision to limit access to media members such as CNN and The New York Times.
” I don’t think that people should rush to judgment to suggest that this is the start of a big crackdown on media access.”
When it comes to the Jon Stewart Donald Trump comments on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show last night, it sounds like the former talk show host believes that the media should not focus on their lack of access and instead work on actual journalism outside the President’s office.
Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward didn’t crack Watergate by talking to Richard Nixon’s press secretary. In much the same way, Jon Stewart hinted that media that might have been dismissed by President Donald Trump should work on journalism instead of just talking about the nasty break up.
[Featured Image by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images]
