Comedian beats out President Obama for man of the year honors
Only in American can the host of a fake news show, Jon Stewart, be considered more influential than the President of the United States. At least, that’s what a popular web site for younger men reports. The results of the annual survey to identify the nation’s most influential man may be cheered by young adults, but New Seniors question the lack of values, tradition and common sense displayed by upcoming generations.
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Those born between 1930 and 1945, once almost forgotten as pre-boomers, are now known as New Seniors. We remember when television news was the prime source for information. In the early days, 1948, the networks had real newsmen like Douglas Edwards (CBS) and John Cameron Swayze (NBC). The later was replaced by Huntley and Brinkley in 1956 and Edwards gave way to Walter Cronkite’s 20 year run in 1962.
ABC tried a number of different formats and hosts to establish its news division, including a couple of stints by Peter Jennings until he became the anchor of record in 1983. Even with the revolving door at ABC, the network is credited with using lessons gained from sports programming to make news more entertaining.
Some blame the advent and ultimate proliferation of cable outlets for fragmenting TV’s news audience. This brought about less hard news, which ultimately led to it being presented in a comedy format. Others believe the lack of regulations is responsible for opinions rather than facts driving the way information is massaged and reported.
And, there are those who say the cynicism of today’s youth toward the establishment is behind the funnyman Stewart’s success on the cable channel, Comedy Central, and why he is the most trusted source for news among his viewers. Didn’t we hear that “don’t trust anyone over 30” stuff before? Besides, Stewart was born in 1962, so he’s at the trailing end of the boomer generation, something fans tend to overlook. His popularity with 18 to 34 year old males seems to be based on his irreverent attitude and penchant for not taking the news seriously, no matter how bad it may be.
Over the more than 60 years that New Seniors have been watching TV news, we’ve seen lots of changes. From the Kefauver Committee crime hearings in the early ‘50s to the Vietnam war being beamed into our living rooms in the ‘60s to the Watergate investigations of the ‘70s and everything thereafter, television was the medium we depended on for news.
The segmentation of news through cable and the individualization of it through the Internet have resulted in information being presented to the audience in the way they prefer to receive it. We’ve come a long way from Walter Cronkite’s famous closing line, “And that’s the way it is,” to having the President of our country called, “Dude,” by the man of the year, Jon Stewart.
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