Blame Jon Stewart's trustiness on the news media clusterf#*$
Walter Cronkite is a tougher act to follow than letting Metallica open for William Hung. But now that the news legend and former most trusted man in America has passed on to that big newsroom in the great beyond, America needs someone else to trust. They need someone they can depend on to get the hard, cold facts about the important stories that truly affect their lives. They need someone to cut through the political haze of misdirection and mediocrity that cloud almost every major news story like a lingering beer fart.
That man is ... Jon Stewart. Don't like it? Blame the rest of the news media for not doing a better job.
A recent Time Magazine poll found that a wide majority of Americans consider The Daily Show host as the nation's most trusted newscaster behind NBC's Brian Williams, ABC's Charlie Gibson, and CBS's Katie Couric. I know what you're thinking: Where's the love for Showbiz Tonight's A.J. Hammer? If it wasn't for his hard hitting journalism, Jon & Kate would still be together and forever scarring the lives of their eight children.
It's no surprise that Stewart has reached the top of the list. The 24 hour news cycle has not only widened the playing field for the number of sources that news wonks can access, but it makes the fact-checking process a lot more difficult. Brian Williams said Cronkite didn't like the idea of a round-the-clock news network because the needless need to get the story on the air first trumped the ability to do a thorough fact check. Cable news has completely changed the game. The goal of the news isn't to get the story right. It's to get the story first.
Want to know where I learned that little tidbit about Mr. Cronkite's legacy and the destruction cable news is wreaking on journalistic precision? On The Daily Show!

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