CNBC IS NOT SMILING AT YR PARTISAN HATE SPEECH

ITEM [via Talking Points Memo]: Remember how Jon Stewart made fun of CNBC’s boom market cheerleading? Joe Scarborough and Jim Cramer are not amused.

Watch and marvel as they dismiss him as a mere comedian, and then hold him accountable for his obviously biased politics.

Jon Stewart retorts here.

All of which is the latest exhibit in the ongoing debate about the role of political humor in post-Bush America.

We’ve talked in this space before about how making current-President jokes used to be a non-partisan activity until Republicans unilaterally decided (around the time The Daily Show became a hit, I think) that mocking Bush and the GOP was somehow unpatriotic and borderline treason, and an obvious indicator of extreme liberal bias.

Now, we have CNBC talking heads spending several minutes of valuable screen time on their own program defending themselves against satire by demanding that Stewart be held accountable for what he says and making his political beliefs clear – all under the belief that he only makes fun of Republicans (when in fact he’s been making Democrat/Obama jokes pretty much since the Demos won back Congress in 2006).

All this fuss over a comedy show – albeit one that is allegedly a more trusted source of news than the real news programs it makes fun of. The fact that CNBC and Fox News blame Jon Stewart for this speaks volumes.

We’ve been here before, though. It’s not the first time the media demand to know why Stewart doesn’t adhere to journalistic practices, under the mistaken belief that what he does is journalism. To be fair, it’s an easy mistake to make – if journalism’s goal is to report the truth and get people to think critically about current events, then The Daily Show does fit that criteria.

But so does satire. And The Daily Show has much more in common with satire than journalism. TDS doesn’t break stories or do its own reporting – it makes fun of stories that already exist. It’s multimedia stand-up comedy dressed up as a mock news program that largely makes fun of what passes for journalism these days. It’s mash-up comedy that's been around since at least the 1960s. Take away the studio set and the video clips, and Stewart is no more a journalist than Bill Hicks or George Carlin were. Leave the studio dressing, and The Daily Show is Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update with real guests and better jokes. No one accuses SNL of practicing biased journalism. And they had Tina Fey on their team. I rest my case.

On the other hand, if you accept the premise that comedy is funny because it contains just enough truth for people to get the joke – and certainly satire needs truth to live – then maybe comedy is the new journalism. Given what passes for TV journalism these days, it might as well be.

That’s not funny,

This is dF

STRIPPING FOR THE FUTURE

ITEM: In an interview with CNN, Matt Groening reveals that his Life In Hell comic strip is being dropped by its flagship newspaper, LA Weekly, after 22 years.

“I and all the other cartoonists are being dismissed because they can't afford to pay,” he says.

Tellingly, CNN spends very little time on this, focusing more on Groening’s better-known works like The Simpsons and Futurama – which probably shows just how little people care about comic strips, compared to TV shows.

Of course, that’s not news for comic strip fans – ever since the 80s, newspapers have been shrinking comic sizes and treating them like meaningless filler (and sure, you could make a case for things like Howard Huge, but that’s not the point).

It doesn’t mean Life In Hell is finished just yet, since other alt-papers are still running it, but Groening isn’t optimistic, and isn’t sure if he wants to do it online, which usually demands more than a weekly installment.

Which in turn raises the question of whether Web comics have a future. People do read them online, and not just established comics like Doonesbury. Sinfest (which many of you know) is not only successful, but also illustrates one of the greatest advantages of online vs newspaper comics: the ability to do comics on controversial subjects. No family newspaper in their right mind would have the guts to run something like Sinfest.

In theory – according to this op-ed piece – the next logical step could be mobile devices, which are perfect for quick-read content like comic strips, and now have the functionality to download and read them easily. I don’t have an iPhone or a Kindle, but I wouldn’t mind having a RSS feed of my favorite comics (new or archived classics) for my Nokia N95 bundled into my monthly bill.

The question, as always, is whether there’s any money in it. I’m not sure how Tatsuya Ishida makes money from Sinfest, apart from web ad revenue or sales of the collected volumes. I assume he pays the rent with his work at Dark Horse Comics (which is going to run Sinfest now, apparently). Those of you with connections in the business probably have better insight into the economics.

Anyway, it’s a shame about Life In Hell. One could argue it’s past its prime, but I loved reading it in university. It’s also the source of one of my all-time favorite lines ever written in a newspaper:

“Mastubation is nothing to be ashamed of. (It’s nothing to be particularly proud of, either.)”

Not that I agree with that second bit, mind. But it’s a great line.

Hell is for heroes,

This is dF

COMMANDER! I’M CALLING YOUR NAME!

Coming next month: the only WW2 computer game covering the historic battle of 1942 in which the USSR was attacked by Martians.

Stalin vs Martians, it’s called.



Is it any good? Hell, I don’t know. But the game trailer features Stalin dancing gaily to Hi-NRG house music.

Which, I promise you, is the funniest thing you’ll see on the Internet today.

Provided you have my peculiar sense of humor. Or have a weakness for Soviet kitsch, Martians and gay dance music. Which I do.

Rhythm is a dancer,

This is dF