Walter Cronkite was the winner of a long ago poll asking who was the most trusted newsman. So now that he's deceased Time.com conducted an internet poll to get opinions on who is currently the most trusted newsman. And they tell us that Jon Steward is the new Walter Cronkite. Go to Time Poll and mouse over the various states to see how close the voting was. Maybe that poll should tell us that there really isn't any replacement as the network news has driven so many people to seek the news elsewhere.
I may have gone along with that ancient poll had I been asked to participate way back then, but I'm not sure who else was running in that race. Huntley and Brinkley were no slouches.
But attitudes and beliefs change as we get older. And even though I may have trusted Wally back then, it was only later that the realization hit that he, or his writers, had their fingers to the wind and were merely giving their customers the mainstream consensus. At least one observer suggests that Mr. Cronkite was overrated and that his tone was the only thing that distinguished him from the others.
Mr. Cronkite made his famous turn on the Vietnam war after the Tet offensive which Mr. Cronkite deemed to have been a U.S. loss. Interestingly, the current consensus says it was a victory. At that point in history the campus anti-war movement was growing like gang busters, and the counterculture movement was on the verge of going mainstream. Cronkite wasn't ahead of the pack, he was merely joining the side of the issue that appeared to have the momentum. Mr. Cronkite was our leader, you see, but to stay ahead of the crowd he had to keep glancing back to see which way the crowd was going.
In a sense, he was like the starlets who showed up on the Carson show decked out in hippie garb in total contrast to the girl-next-door look or the sex siren look of their previous appearances.
So now we have Jon Stewart wearing Cronkite's old badge. Stewart was very much anti-Bush as were his fans, and he gave them plenty of red meat to chew on which is exactly what they wanted. Like any good entertainer, he's got his finger to the wind, and once Obamania runs its course and the polls tilt solidly away from Obama we'll get to witness the moment when Obama loses Jon Stewart. Pay attention. Maybe someday they'll look back at it as a moment in broadcasting history.
I guess Time's poll result would make sense if he actually delivered the news.
Posted by: Stewart | July 26, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Stewart, The Daily Show probably delivers just enough of the news to provide Jon Stewart's fans with a skewed view. Unfortunately, those fans are the ones electing presidents.
It reminds me a little bit of the science fiction movie "Idiocracy" about a future America in which everyone is amazingly stupid.
But of course, I have nothing but respect for Jon Stewart's fans, and that has nothing to do with the fact that they rule the country.
Posted by: Geo | July 26, 2009 at 02:50 PM
Do you watch the show with any regularity? He skewers both the right and the left. Granted, the right gets made fun of more often, but that's really no surprise what with the likes of the birthers, Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachman. And by the way, I'm speaking as an independent. I'm not bound to any political dogma.
Posted by: LLoyd | July 30, 2009 at 01:13 AM
No, Lloyd, I don't watch it. That's interesting to know that he's skewering both sides. And if his fan base is independent and not left leaning then that would be very interesting to know.
Posted by: Geo | July 30, 2009 at 07:50 AM