In chapter 7 of Amusing Ourselves to Death, "Now...This" , Neil Postman discusses how our view of the world is shaped by television news programs. He is referring in this chapter to 'serious' news programs such as nightly news, specials, etc. He points out that these are all merely entertainment. I wonder, then, how he would respond to openly entertaining satirical news programs such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" or "The Colbert Report"? He mentions parodies such as "Saturday Night Live" and "Monty Python" briefly in his closing chapter, but not in relation to his Now...This argument. I think Postman might criticize these programs in other ways, but I don't think they morph the mind quite like he describes nightly news as doing. What do you guys think - are these programs as harmful as news reports that promote themselves as serious and thoughtful? Do they have the same "now...this" philosophy, even though they don't claim to regard the news as heavily as "real" news reports do?
Besides, did anyone catch Stewart on Crossfire a couple of years ago? He obviously thinks 'serious' programs such as those have a more of a responsibility to convey events and the details behind them than a 'fake news show' does. He totally told them - it was awesome.
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