Jester Journalism

By Tom Sparks

The more I thought about our discussion last week about the changing media, the more I realized that I was not completely forthcoming in my explanation of how I like to get my news. As some of you may recall, I cited my favorite source of news as my daily "paper" newspaper. Sure, I get a newspaper everyday, skim the headlines most mornings and actually sit down to read the thing on the weekends. In fact, physical newspapers probably do account for the majority of news that I digest in a week. But is that how I like to get my news? Not really.

Like many young people nowadays, I love to watch "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" with Stephen Colbert on cable station Comedy Central. You may remember the Pew Research Center survey that came out last year that found that more 18-to-24-year-olds get there news from Jon Stewart than all three networks evening news programs combined.

"And just what," I ask, "is wrong with that?"

Some might point to a liberal bias in these programs, claiming the arguably democratic slant creates a skewed perspective on national and global events and allows the hosts to hide personal bias behind the cloak of comedy. Some see the information presented in these programs as minimal, with too much time afforded to the punchlines, as opposed to maintaining a greater focus on deeper aspects of each story. Still others are resistant to getting their news from shows that proudly boast the fact that they are providing "fake news."

On the other hand, these programs bring news to young people in an easily digestible, even "fun" format. As news sources become more diverse and accessible through a growing presence on the Internet and consistently improving mobile technology, news gatherers face more competition for public attention than at any other time in history.

According to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in 2000's "The Elements of Journalism,"

"Part of a journalist's responsibility... is not just providing information but also providing it in such a way that people will be inclined to listen."

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have new generations "listening." Less a fad than a trend, these "jester journalists" have created an "infotainment" formula that works, and I predict there will be many more of these hybrid programs emerging in years to come.

Do I mind? Not really.