Television shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are very beneficial in learning about political information. Politics is a topic that can be boring to a lot of people but shows such as these put a humorous spin on political issues which makes it enjoyable. Comedy news shows attract a diverse audience that may not be necessarily tuning in for the political news, but the humor of the reporters, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. By presenting the news in this manner, a greater number of people are taking an active interest in politics. I have been watching these shows since a very young age and my political standpoints have been shaped by the content I have received through the show. The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering created by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. The rally was intended to bring attention to how unreasonable people are when dealing with politics and how the media does everything in its power to bring down other candidates. The rally brought together about 200,000 people and 2,000,000 viewers. Buses from UB were provided to attend the rally in Washington DC. A political event not involving Colbert and Stewart may not have been something that a great amount of college students would have wanted to attend. People that have appeared on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report range from musical artists to Barack Obama. Both shows feature interview segments where they bring on guests to talk about events such as political affairs. The funny nature of the shows makes it entertaining yet very educational. Aside from just talking about United States affairs, both shows talk about worldwide affairs as well. A recent episode I just watched of The Colbert Report featured an interview with Alison Klayman. Klayman discusses with Stephen a Chinese artist named Ai Weiwei. Weiwei is a Chinese activist who was considered a god by many Chinese people. He had a blog that was shut down by the Chinese government for being outspoken about his views of the government and was recently imprisoned for 44 days. His views are not drastically radical, he was just an activist encouraging people to speak out and he was detained for doing so. This kind of information is not something I would have ever known about had it not have been for The Colbert Report. He conducts the interview in an entertaining manner, but the interviewee still provides facts that are important. The same episode also comically discusses the 2012 presidential candidates and pokes fun at candidates but still provides information about the candidate’s standpoints and plans. The majority of the episodes criticize other broadcasting networks like FOX news. The personalities that Stewart and Colbert possess leads them to be more liked and listened to than other hosts, which could greatly influence elections. Having TV shows that provide useful information is a good way of getting people of all ages engaged in important issues.
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