When it come to current events, the most informative hour on television is the slot occupied NewsHour on PBS. This is a full hour devoted to the news that is nearly commercial free. It is an excellent news broadcast, but for a generation used to infotainment, that can seem rather dry.
The second most informative hour is, arguably, the hour occupied by The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. People shake their heads with a “tsk, tsk” when they are told that many in the younger generation get most of their news from The Daily Show, and it is a problem if this is the only source, but I daresay that an analysis of the content in the flagship news broadcasts on any network and that on The Daily Show would reveal that on many nights as much or more of the Daily Show is devoted to serious, important, timely topics than is the network news, particularly on those days when the guest is not an entertainer. Certainly the Daily show often provides more context, albeit through humor.
Continue reading →