In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Jon Stewart gives a rare interview. Not surprisingly, cable news comes up in the conversation. Stewart is complimentary of Fox News Channel, even as he mocks it relentlessly in his nightly show. He says that both “The Daily Show” and FNC share a few common traits:
“We are both reactions to the news and to government,” he says. “We’re both expressions of dissatisfaction. [Roger Ailes’], I think, happens to be a slightly more powerful version [laughs.] . . . . Ailes was a strategist for Nixon. He comes from the seat of power, and he understands how important the narrative is. We come from comedy, so our natural instinct is not to understand that, and to be bratty. That goes a long way towards explaining the difference between the two organizations.”