By Chris Shea, staff writer
America will be losing its voice of reason. On Feb. 10, longtime host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, announced his retirement from the show. The final taping will take place on Aug. 6.
After Craig Kilborn decided to virtually end his career by stepping down from the hosting responsibilities of the fake news program in 1998, a young Jon Stewart took over and began to influence the political spectrum.
What Stewart brought was a political edge that the show had not seen under Kilborn. Originally just a spoof on local news, Stewart turned it into something smart, influential, and useful.
Not only what the show did under him was funny, but also it informed and opened our eyes to how our government works, well in most cases, doesn’t work.
He was an essential opponent of the Iraq War and a huge critic of the Bush administration (as well as Congress). Not only did he criticize the government, but also the political bias in mainstream media, mostly cable news.
Stewart isn’t just leaving the show; he is also leaving behind a great legacy of morals and comedy.
Since the takeover in ’99, The Daily Show has won 19 Emmy awards and has attracted an average of 2.2 million viewers every night. In 2008, Pew Research even voted Stewart as the fourth-most admired journalist in the United States. Not bad for a man who considers himself as an entertainer rather than a pundit. He was even seen as the most influential man in 2010, according to askmen. com.
Even though the majority of people watch The Daily Show to be entertained, many view- ers end up having an increased knowledge in politics just by watching the show.
Through research conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, compared to non-viewers, people who watched satirical shows like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report are actually more likely to have political knowledge.
Comedy Central is certainly in scramble mode now, not just because they need to find a new host by 2016, but because of how many departures they havefacedinthelasttwoyears. First, John Oliver (part-time host and former correspondent of The Daily Show), who left in 2013 to host HBO’s Last Week Tonight; then Stephen Colbert (former Daily Show correspondent and host of The Colbert Report), who will be hosting CBS’s Late Show in September; and now Stewart will depart along with longtime correspondents such as Jason Jones and Samantha Bee.
On March 30, Comedy Central and The Daily Show officially announced who will be the next host of the program: South African comedian and the Daily Show’s “International Correspondent,” Trevor Noah.
No matter what, Stewart’s retirement won’t leave a void. He’s smart enough to see that whoever replaces him will bring a fresh perspective to the show thanks to him. Stewart has been captain of this show for the last 16 years; let’s see where this goes.