From Punditry to Comedy

Really?

D.L. Hughley as political satirist? Looks like someone at CNN has been enjoying his "Daily Show" lately. The cable news channel has tapped the R-rated comedian to host a primetime weekend show where he'll do some stand up, talk to some newsies and perform some sketch comedy.

CNN told the NY Times that it"is not trying to re-create" Jon Stewart's emmy-winning program, but expects the show to more closely resemble "The Tonight Show." What that says about the state of cable news is the subject of another post. Let's just got with it for now...it has me thinking, what could other TV stations do to match CNN?

Fox News' Deadpan Hour with Ben Stein: The comedian spends 55 minutes explaining the economy and the creation of the universe using silly putty; finishes the show with a roll call....Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

MSNBC's Larry David Variety Show: The "Curb" creator and "Seinfeld" mastermind vents about the state of politics. "What's with the lapel pin? Why is Barack Obama expected to smile during the debates when the camera's not on him? I'd be picking my nose."

C-SPAN's...uhhh, uhhh....

The 9-to-5-ization of Journalism

Among my favorite newsroom cliches is this one: "I didn't get into this field to work a 9-to-5." Translation: The money ain't that good, so I don't want a desk job and sure as hell won't wear a tie." Nothing's changed on the latter front (though anecdotal evidence says journalists are dressing better these days ... who knows when you'll be on cable news). But with the growing popularity of blogging, reporters are becoming accustomed to a more traditional work schedule -- or maybe they're now working both days and nights.

Used to be the reporter's day really heated up (deadline standard time -- another of those cliches) only when the rest of the country was clocking out. No longer. Journalists are being asked to feed their blogs throughout the day to keep the working folk up to date. It's not uncommon for reporters to file a roundup of links before 9 a.m. The way editors see it, the news has to be there when the reader wants it most -- when they get into work and during their lunch break.

As my friend who works at ESPN.com jokes, his job performance is measured by how much productivity decreases at offices across the country. He's transitioned from a schedule where he'd most often be working from 4-11 to one where he's on from 8 till dark.

There are, of course, still the night editors, weekend anchors and all-hours producers to keep the field from getting too much in lock step. But the growth seems to be in 9-to-5 content providers (ughh, speaking of ugly phrases.)

The common complaint is that the constant updates are just extending the work day. But for those who are actually clocking out around 5, this marks a new day for journalists -- they can actually see their kids.

Cover The Vote

Media commentary is so often called media criticism for good reason. There's much to lament in journalism these days. But good coverage shouldn't go unnoticed. And so I say heckuva job to the reporters who've been drawing attention to a range of voting issues that have arisen this fall. There might not be a more important story right now -- and the media have been on top of it.

Publications have dutifully covered accusations of wrongdoing at ACORN and produced timely think pieces -- see Slate's look at the danger of believing in vote fraud. What's heartening, as well, is that the tone of news coverage about long lines for early voting hasn't been overly cheerleaderish -- wow, record turnout! -- but has been somewhat sober. There's plenty of warrented concern about polling places being unprepared on Election Day -- a story that's had legs thus far.

One could argue that the media were caught flat-flooted after the 2000 election debacle, but have learned from their mistakes. As record voter turnout is expected in 2008, reporters, at least, are prepared this time around.

Bull On Parade

Much as MSNBC's Keith Olbermann found his editorial voice attacking right-leaning politicians and their policies, CNN anchor Campbell Brown is making her name calling out campaign leaders and other newsmakers whose comments sound fishy.

Brown isn't relying on hyper-partisan rhetoric. In fact, she's making a painstaking effort to claim neutrality as her network seeks to find a middle ground between MSNBC and Fox News. Her YouTubular-rant directed at Sarah Palin's handlers for shielding her from the media? More of a show of solidarity with spurned reporters than anything else.

In Brown's "Cutting Through the Bull" segment that points out overstatements and debunks campaign ads, it's a Democratic tit for a Republican tat. It's setting the record straight on John McCain's role in the savings and loan scandal and explaining Barack Obama's relationship with violent antiwar protester William Ayers.

Brown's show is fairing well in CNN's 8 p.m. slot. According to The New York Times, the program drew an average of 826,000 viewers a night from March 10 through Sept. 28.

There's nothing wrong with a little fact checking on cable news. Pointing out absurdity has become a nightly ritual on The Daily Show. But Brown and CNN reporters don't use Jon Stewart's brand of satire -- or any humor for that matter. And therein lies the potential problem.

By rehashing the smear campaign of the day in such a serious setting, CNN runs the risk of perpetuating falsehoods. As The Washington Post reported last year:

"The conventional response to myths and urban legends is to counter bad information with accurate information. But the new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications, for all their intuitive appeal, can paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of popular myths."

It's not as if Brown invented the "fact checker" feature (newspapers have long run such columns around election season) or broke new ground by responding to puzzling sound bites. It's just that by adopting the "no bull" theme for her show, she is promising evenhanded public interest journalism in a format that rewards partisanship and quick-hitting reports.

Only time will tell if Brown's show has enough meat.

Debate Wrap

Spent most of VP debate night watching live tapings of "Hardball" (got a brief cameo on TV and the fiancee almost got interviewed by Chris Matthews), and blogging for the St. Louis Beacon on student reaction to Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

As I had predicted, the event ended up being more theater than news. It was odd hearing pundits more or less agree that the night was a push. No major flubs for Palin; a solid performance from Biden. C'mon, media elites, can't we find anyone to take a contrarian point of view?

Moderator Gwen Ifill put to rest any concern about her ability to be a fair referee -- 90 percent of undecided voters polled at the Washington U. law school said they thought Ifill was evenhanded in her questioning. That same group, for the record, found Palin to be likeable but not substantive. Biden got generally high marks.

It was noteworthy, too, that MSNBC was the only station to have a real presence on campus (or at least the part of campus where those without press passes could wander.) Hardball had several tapings from the quad; CNN and FOX were nowhere to be found. That's curious, given the build up to this debate.

In fact, I saw more of Matthews and John Oliver from The Daily Show than reporters from the major networks and newspapers combined. Guess that's a matter of those programs playing to their base.

Big Pundits on Campus: 24 hours til Palin v. Biden

Took a stroll through the Wash U campus on a nice fall Wednesday. The media frenzy hadn't yet begun but it was Super Tuesday for the tech guys, truck drivers and producers. I'll have plenty to say tomorrow night about the big show, but for now I'll let the pictures tell the story.


Setting up the MSNBC set, a.k.a. making sure Chris Matthews looks pretty.

If this doesn't get you pumped about the campaign season
I don't know what will.

Now we're talking. The best political love bus on television.

In case you're wondering, the Kappa Sig bros support Obama...

... While the Theta Chi boys are in the tank for McCain

Mmmm. Will the media feast on Palin? Ba da bing.

Division III football players dream of having this kind of
media attention.

Tough choice: Debate watching party or arcade night with
the cute pink dude.

Going green. Something both parties can agree on.