I was surprised that Stewart was so glib.
Yes, watching video on your phone, in short bites, is “like” TV, and arguably some of that content can come from full-fledged “TV shows” with diverse talent and production companies and cable distribution…
But surely it has not escaped Stewart’s notice that a shocking amount of eyeball time is now on video content that is not produced by mainstream media – instead made by small creators & online teams working from their homes. And if you doubt the impact of that, go down to Walmart or Target and spend some time on the toy aisle. The shelves are PACKED with Baby Shark, Cocomelon, Busy Beavers, Blippi… all of these streaming-first non-mainstream brands that are mostly famous because of Youtube.
It’s odd, because Stewart himself is the one who benefited when cable TV made “narrowcasting” a thing. And now that there are even narrower narrowcasts, he can’t seem to see that it’s an existential threat to his way of making content.
I admit I’m a fan of Jon, well, at least in that I like his show. So I read your comment, and said “oh I’m gonna watch the video and then think to myself how this stranger is wrong.”
I don’t think you’re wrong. I do agree that Jon missed the point. “TV” implies corporations and producers, etc. The audience question was about getting information from social media, e.g. TikTok, which definitely does NOT require journalism, education, or even funding.
Yeah, Jon didn’t seem to take the question seriously. I mean I’m going to watch and probably like every Monday show, but he missed this one.
I think Jon didn’t give a good honest answer because the blunt statement struck him at his core. He may be aware that TV is dying, but he’s a TV man. That’s his identity. Hearing a statement like that on his TV show kind of put him on the defensive, hence all the jokes attempting to deflect. It felt like someone had kind of hurt his feelings with a criticism that hit too close to home. John may be able to make that criticism himself in a different context, but wasn’t ready for someone else to say it to him.
I think it’s why after the fallout from Apple TV, he went back to the daily show. Meanwhile, you’ve got John Oliver well aware that the majority of his viewers are on YouTube and whatnot.
Not to mention, on social media the context of the full episode of the show can be cut out and clips can be used to support whatever agenda people want.
It might be important to put into context that Jon is warming up the crowd before the taping of the show in this clip. Yeah, he probably misses the mark on exactly what was asked, but what is he supposed to do at that point? He’s warming up the crowd. Going out and saying, “journalism and by extension traditional media is dying a slow and painful death at the hands of software companies that don’t care about truth or art using dangerously manipulative techniques and the consequences of that are likely dire for the future of society” isn’t exactly setting the mood they’re going for.
Given the traction this clip is getting it really wouldn’t surprise me to see a more nuanced take from him in a while that has had more than almost zero thought put into it.
