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Jon Stewart Leaving 'The Daily Show'

Posted by Soulskill on from the thanks-for-all-the-laughs dept.

slimjim8094 writes: According to the NY Times, Jon Stewart is leaving "The Daily Show." This was announced during the taping of this evening's show. He will "remain at the helm of 'The Daily Show' until later this year," but no word on exactly when the change will take place, or what the replacement (host or show) will be. Presumably the current and past correspondents would be the first choice for a new host. His program will be sorely missed by at least this viewer. Maybe Comedy Central can get John Oliver out of his HBO show...

10 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Who will take credit first? by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I expect in the morning the conservative talking heads on radio and TV will trip over each other to be the first to take credit for Stewart's departure. Considering how much he - the admitted source of fake news - has made them look like buffoons routinely over the years, they likely won't mourn him much.

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    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  2. A new gig for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe he can replace Brian Williams.

    It is still okay to dream, isn't it?

  3. Questionable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It was probably the creative team beihind which is making all the jokes and getting all the info gathering. Jon Stewart was the head making the repartee. Now granted the techniques was good and the delivery excellent, but are you not overstating a bit much his influence ? Somebody doing a good delivery is what is required. That is much easier to find than the creative idea behind the show. Not to disparage what he did, but the daily show could certainly continue uninterrupted with a good voice delivery actor. Who knows maybe a woman finally...

    1. Re:Questionable by monkeyzoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Riki Oh?

      But yes, John Stewart is the heart and soul of The Daily Show. First, he refers often to the writers' meetings they have about the material, so it's obvious he's not just a prompt reader but someone involved in the writing. Second, his delivery is absolutely unbeatable, and the way he switches between the prepared script and off-the-cuff, let-your-guard-down silliness speaks to his standup background skills. And finally, the way he performs during the live interviews is the part that irrefutably convinces me he is the most quick-witted, fast-thinking man on earth. Even when I think he is wrong in his position, I can't remember seeing a guest who was able to outmaneuver him in a debate to seem credible.

      I'm afraid a new host won't be able to recreate the magic. Look at Stephen Colbert for proof. His spinoff is a great success and extremely funny, but IMHO, it doesn't come close to matching the comedy of The Daily Show with John.

  4. Questionable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do you remember the daily show back when it was run by Craig Kilborn? Jon Stewart made a huge difference.

  5. Stewart. by fyngyrz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think the answer can be found in the interviews. He's responsible, well informed, and brilliant.

    Sure, there are writers and they prepare the bits, but I, for one, think Stewart is the heart and soul of it.

    We'll see what happens after he's gone -- that'll tell us a lot, too.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  6. Re:Replacement Co-Anchors by captjc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why? Except possibly for money, Oliver has a great gig at HBO. Total creative control, no sponsors to piss off, no forced interview to hock some lame movie or book, and only a half-hour to fill each week.

    He would be crazy to give that up to go back to the Daily Show.

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    Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
  7. The only thing I dislike about Stewart by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's pretty clear that Stewart has had a profound effect upon how people born after 1980 get their news

    I agree and while I'm older than that I'm very much a fan of his work. I think he and his team provide a breath of clarity and sanity to the news media. The only thing that annoys me about Stewart is his continued insistence that he is somehow not delivering news and isn't at least in part in that industry. I think that is false and frankly somewhat disingenuous of him. He knows or should know that lots of people listen to what he has to say precisely because it is news - just delivered more cleverly than most. While he isn't doing live reporting of events, he is very much providing editorial analysis of the news very much like that at CNN, Fox, MSNBC and even newspapers. In fact he goes further by providing commentary about the news making process itself which happens far too seldom. News organizations tend not to be very self reflective and when they are they tend to be overly self congratulatory. Stewart and his team have done a masterful job of pointing out when news organizations (especially Fox News) are spouting bullshit.

    I wish Mr. Stewart well in whatever he does in the future. I think the world has been made a better place by his efforts.

  8. Re:Jon Stewart 2016 by dywolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Colbert being on that ticket would confuse so many people.
    "Why is this conservative running with that libtard?"

    Heck, could split the GOP vote just from those who don't get the joke.

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    The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
  9. Re:I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did by T.E.D. · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My son (a college Sophomore) still audibly bitches when Stewart goes on vacation.

    For the record, back during the Regan + Bush Administrations when I was in College, I had a similar devotion to Carson and Letterman. Neither of them were exactly spring chickens at the time.