I'll go ahead and admit it: I'm a veritable freak of nature. I watch CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, and The Daily Show as if my life depended on it(you could say it did this year) and love every minute of it. I have favorite pundits and I cheer for Senators and Representatives (Debbie Wasserman Schultz!!!, Chris Dodd, HILLARY!!!).
CNN: Sometimes I feel guilty for watching CNN because it's the new technologically advanced news source that every ABC/NBC want to be, but I just can't pull myself away. I'm hooked on CNN and wouldn't have it any other way. For some reason I insist on leaving myself under the impression that CNN, unlike every other news network, is completely honest with me and is not plagued by big businessmen who control everything. I began watching during the Presidential primaries and immediately picked out my favorites: Donna Brazile, Democratic Analyst; James Carville, CNN Contributor; Paul Begala, Awesomeness with a Texas Accent; Amy Holmes, the only Conservative I can honestly say I love; and Fareed Zakaria, Editor of Newsweek International and the most amazing thing to happen to Sunday mornings in decades.
MSNBC: The guilt of watching CNN is nothing compared to what I feel watching MSNBC(the most liberal television network I have ever seen). However, I still love Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann(because I have never seen a liberal consistently so flaming mad every day), and Richard Wolffe.
C-SPAN: My C-SPAN experience began when I watched the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting featuring such amazing people as Donna Brazile, Tina Flournoy, FDR's grandson, and Harold Ickes. Now I just watch C-SPAN when I want to see full campaign stump speeches.
The Daily Show: I have watched Jon Stewart since before I realised my love for politics. I proudly wear my JON STEWART FOR PRESIDENT shirt everywhere and watch daily. I really don't understand when people say it's not the news, because in all honesty people respond quite well to comedy (especially when it comes to the ruination of our nation).
My Favorite Political Pundits
By Frank America - Posted on November 2nd, 2008
Sometimes I can't stand those talking heads on TV. They're entertaining, and they offer valuable insight, but I suppose that after awhile, they get old. In fact, by this time, I just watch them for the entertainment value: Bill O'Reilly is hilarious, in his own angry sort of way.
I never liked Carville. He seems... almost snobby to me. Perhaps the fact that he was Bill Clinton's campaign manager and basically got him elected went to his head. And CNN was founded by Ted Turner, that corporate media mogul. All the same, I think they're mostly unbiased (key word "mostly").
It's amazing that shows like the Daly Show and the Colbert Report have become so popular- they both even just won Emmys, right? I think they're funny, too, and I immensely enjoy them, but sometimes I feel that thanks to shows like these, serious topics in America are being treated too lightly.
Here's a question for you that I've always wondered: do the pundits, media people, and comedy shows (like the Daly Show or even SNL) contribute to the political process? Do you think they in any way affect elections? I personally think they do have the power to swing elections, and I'm not entirely okay with that.
I agree, The Daily Show, Bill Maher, and Colbert Report along with all the other humorous shows about politics do have a real role in the whole process. However, I don't think this is bad; people need to be able to laugh at what goes on in the world, and they aren't always joking. Jon Stewart is every now and then extremely serious, it just happens to be funny when he tells his viewers that 'really...the world is in the toilet right now.'
This is the second time you've posted a comment on one of my blogs...I'm starting to like you cosmic. :)
Jon Stewart actually covering stories that the rest of the media neglected to. In short.... he's the man. I remember Moyers having him on his show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEgZUpgJnqE) Quite entertaining. The greatest broadcast journalist of our time interviewing one of the greatest comedians of our time.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire