# Study: Jon Stewart viewers more politically informed than... well, most everybody. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563 "2004-09-28T21:37:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/1 "2004-09-28T21:37:26Z")
The Annenberg Public Policy Center recently released a study indicating that viewers of _The Daily Show with Jon Stewart_ have a better handle on the facts of the presidential campaign than not only viewers of Leno and Letterman but also newspaper readers and most cable news viewers (!). [Link to study](http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/naes/2004_03_late-night-knowledge-2_9-21_pr.pdf) (PDF). Also of note is the accusation from Bill O’Reilly that Stewart’s audience is mostly “stoned slackers,” the which was undercut by Nielsen research showing that Stewart’s audience is more likely to have college degrees than O’Reilly’s. ([Link](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6117542/), including the funny aside, “Comedy Central had no statistics on how many people watch ‘The Daily Show’ stoned.”) I’m sure there’s a debate here, including why exactly this would be the case. (Does Stewart’s show inform people, or do already smart people gravitate to it? Probably a little of both. Plus there are opinions like [this one](http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/4158e47d3a4d0), which suggest that Stewart’s approach of satirizing the news environment itself, rather than taking predictable jabs at the personalities based on established stereotypes, is a step up in the critical-thinking arena. There’s a very interesting breakdown of “joke type” in the Annenberg study above showing how Leno and Letterman piggyback their humor on the prevailing memes, whereas Stewart is more likely to strike out in new directions.) But I’m not interested in a debate. I thought it was interesting and worth sharing, and would like to invite fellow Stewart viewers, whether or not you watch stoned (;)), to join in the self-satisfied preening (double ;)). ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/2 "2004-09-28T21:44:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > (Does Stewart’s show inform people, or do already smart people gravitate to it? Probably a little of both. Well, Stewart and most of _TDS_’s humor is smarter. Leno, Letterman, and Conan all pretty much make the same jokes- Clinton is tubby and horny and Bush is stupid. Most of their jokes don’t require any knowledge of much of anything, politics included. The lowest common denominator is that everyone knows that Clinton got a BJ from a slightly overweight intern, and Bush makes verbal slips a lot. Most of what Stewart comments on is more specific and relevant to politics. If you don’t know what’s going on in the world, you’ll be somewhat lost watching _the Daily Show_. I will say that if it were not for the SDMB, the first I’d hear about many an event would be from Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/3 "2004-09-28T22:26:40Z")
O’Reilly will be on the Daily show on Oct 7th, circle your calenders. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/4 "2004-09-28T22:34:20Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > . . . the accusation from Bill O’Reilly that Stewart’s audience is mostly “stoned slackers” . . . Well, if that makes my elderly mother, and my middle-aged sister and myself “stoned slackers” . . . ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/5 "2004-09-28T23:10:35Z")
I don’t watch it, stoned. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/6 "2004-09-28T23:15:14Z")
Self-congratulatory pat on the back. 🆒 I couldn’t imagine watching it stoned though, I’d miss half the jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/7 "2004-09-28T23:16:25Z")
> [@Leonard](#): > > I don’t watch it, stoned. Does that mean when you watch the show you aren’t stoned, or when you’re stoned, you don’t watch the show? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/8 "2004-09-28T23:24:05Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Does that mean when you watch the show you aren’t stoned, or when you’re stoned, you don’t watch the show? 😛 😃 The power of the mighty comma. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/9 "2004-09-28T23:26:17Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Self-congratulatory pat on the back. 🆒 > > I couldn’t imagine watching it stoned though, I’d miss half the jokes. It’s funnier stoned, as are the commercials , as are the dead air spaces between the commercials and the show. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/10 "2004-09-29T04:58:00Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > It’s funnier stoned, as are the commercials , as are the dead air spaces between the commercials and the show. Ever watch the Daily Show? … on weed? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/11 "2004-09-29T10:28:15Z")
> [@St. Urho](#): > > Ever watch the Daily Show? … on weed? 😃 Ummm… I’m just guessin’. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/12 "2004-09-29T11:42:26Z")
Damn! I feel so much better! About 80% of my news in takes comes from the Daily Show!! I think it stands to reason though, as long as you’re smart enough to tell the difference between what’s shtick and what’s real. The show give a very unbiased view of the news. This being that they slam on EVERYBODY with an equal amount of vigor!! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/13 "2004-09-29T12:01:50Z")
As to why they are better informed, I know when I see a reference that I’ve not previously heard about I go out and research the issue being discussed (often here). And although I have never watched _The Daily Show_ stoned, I am a Doper, so there is a tie-in. And sometimes my viewing is supplemented by legal intoxicants. Is this the reason that Jon was talking about his “stoned slacker audience” on Monday night? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/14 "2004-09-29T12:58:34Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > (Does Stewart’s show inform people, or do already smart people gravitate to it? Probably a little of both. Just the fact that it’s political humor is going to attract informed people. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/15 "2004-09-29T13:04:22Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Also of note is the accusation from Bill O’Reilly that Stewart’s audience is mostly “stoned slackers.” Eh. No real outrage here. A few months ago, Stewart was asked (by the AP, I think) what he thought of the shockingly large number of viewers for whom the Daily Show is their primary news source. “Well… they’re probably high.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/16 "2004-09-29T13:06:24Z")
I watch TDS. I also watch _Real Time with Bill Maher_. It occurs to me that the people who most need to watch these shows are precisely the demographic group that is least likely to watch them. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/17 "2004-09-29T15:34:47Z")
What’s that you say? Slightly left-leaning but generally independent-thinking individuals are paying more attention than everyone else? Who’da guessed? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/18 "2004-09-29T16:16:43Z")
> [@St. Urho](#): > > Ever watch the Daily Show? … on weed? 😃 I was just waiting for someone to post that one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/19 "2004-09-29T16:29:08Z")
Apparently TDS has replaced Hawaii as America’s melting pot. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563/20 "2004-09-29T16:38:52Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > What’s that you say? Slightly left-leaning but generally independent-thinking individuals are paying more attention than everyone else? > > Who’da guessed? 😃 Hey, don’t discount the slightly _right_-leaning but generally independent! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/study-jon-stewart-viewers-more-politically-informed-than-well-most-everybody/266563.md?page=2)