Friday, August 28, 2009

Daily Show Document Dump?

Jason Linkins at HuffPo.

It's not for nothing that many Americans cite Comedy Central's The Daily Show as the "most trusted name in news." Jon Stewart and his crackerjack staff of writers and researchers have evolved into regular and reliable wielders of analytical skewers, deftly eviscerating the tidy talking points of politicians and the tiresome conventional wisdom of the media.

Now, The Daily Show is on hiatus, for three long weeks.

Around the office, I often joke that the most dangerous time in America is when the show is taking a break. Again, this is meant as a joke! And so, despite the fact that after a summer of delays, the much anticipated torture documents were finally released on the first Monday of the show's hiatus, I think it would be unwise to suggest anything nefarious behind the timing. Right? I mean, to suggest that the torture documents were released to avoid the commentary of one of the media's few, reliable, anti-torture voices...this would be pure paranoia!

Why, to believe that, there would have to be some sort of extant example of a government spokesperson or agency citing The Daily Show as a reason to keep from disclosing information:

Examples of government spokespersons and agencies citing The Daily Show as a reason to keep from disclosing information follow.

Hmmmm. People speak of the "Colbert bump." Should we start monitoring for a "Daily Show document dump?"

UPDATE: Huffington Post Comedy editor Alex Leo reminds me: "Sarah Palin resigned the first day of his last hiatus." COINCIDENCE?

PREVIOUSLY, on THE HUFFINGTON POST:
DOJ: We Can't Release Cheney Records Because Of Late Night Comedy

Hmmmm indeed.

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