6 Reasons We Like The Daily Show Better Than The News

Headline Media's Daniel Etcovitch on how sometimes satire can be as valuable as factual reporting.

They Say It Like It Is

While network news was busy not being surprised about the Zimmermann verdict, emotionlessly displaying that bad verdicts can happen even when the laws actually work, the Daily Show tapped into the outrage of the average citizen. While John Oliver calling for The Sunshine State to change its slogan to The Worst State makes the show’s bias unmistakably apparent, the emotion he displayed was a good representation of what was happening in the streets of major cities all over the United States.

They Don't Hide Behind Terminology

That thing that happened when Morsi was ousted by the military was totally a coup, right? Well, as John Oliver points out, the U.S. government doesn’t really want to call it that since it would prevent them from being allowed to send $1.3 billion in strategic aid. By mocking the media’s reluctance to use the word ‘coup,’ John Oliver points out what he views as an absurdity in American foreign policy - a story overlooked by mainstream media outlets who were much happier to report news about the new government while using every synonym possible for coup.

They're Not Afraid To Be Mean. To Anyone.

Did you know that to filibuster in the Senate, all you have to do is announce that you intend to filibuster? You don’t have to stand for 13 hours without going to the bathroom. Senators are all old grey-haired men, so making them stand would be a tad unfair. Nobody would mock the old men of the Senate. Except The Daily Show of course.

They Have Their Finger On The Pulse Of The Population

Every news outlet in the world reported on the great leap for mankind that the Supreme Court facilitated. The Daily Show, on the other hand, reported the story as the Supreme Court finally catching up with the rest of humankind.

They Don't Generalize (As Much)

As Senior Latino Correspondent Al Madrigal makes clear with a very informative info-graphic, Latinos are not a unified voting bloc. By going into the street and talking to passers-by about how Latinos feel about other Latinos, we get a very human and personal take on a blanket ethnic group that is often packaged as a single entity. The human element is one hell of a powerful reporting tool.

They Agree With Us That The News Sucks Sometimes

When a cable network makes a horribly offensive error about a tragic plane crash, somebody is getting fired. Everybody and their brother covered this story, yet the bulk of the stories were about whose fault it was and who was getting fired from which organization. Sometimes you just have to blame the guy who put those obviously fake names on the screen. The Daily Show, not being a real news show, was more than happy to blame the news for sucking on this one.