While these things usually play out in the comments section, I wanted to give reader "mensley" a full response to the question he raises on a March post, The mission to save media integrity. He/she/it writes:It's been two months, and I have not seen anything from Jon. How long do you suggest we wait?Of course I appreciate the sentiment and the comments, but I still disagree and believe I've struck on the best way to articulate my perspective.
Has he followed up on the bit from Cramer? Has he checked back in? Or does he fall victim to the "on to the next item" mentality that defines both journalism and our society.
In one way, this mentality will help speed our economic recovery as "the Joneses just got a new car..." and into the next collapse.
Again, I truly enjoy Jon, but wish he would eat his own dog food at times.
As with most rational points of debate, this begins and ends with Batman. Let's consider that Jon Stewart, like Batman, has earned cache among the media that he takes to task. He, like Batman, transitioned from one identity (mild mannered B-star comedian/mild mannered billionaire) to another (mission-driven media skeptic/crusader against evil).
And, like Batman, we forget that he is always on the lookout for travesties of justice. Stewart rattles the cages of media every night with direct jabs, just as Batman takes on petty thieves in alleyways. And when there is a true outrage -- be it a financial meltdown of historic proportions or the emergence of a stout, waddling, supervillain -- both he and Batman kick it up a notch and blow stuff up in Hi-Def.
The nightly sparring generally flies under the radar; what you're waiting for is the summer blockbuster. It will come.
