NBC offered Jon Stewart Meet the Press

[blankslate]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/jon-stewart-might-have-been-meet-the-press-host.html

This Sunday marks Chuck Todd’s one-month anniversary in the anchor chair at Meet the Press. Despite an opening-week ratings spike from his exclusive sit-down interview with President Obama, the Todd-helmed show has settled back into third place behind ABC's This Week and CBS's Face the Nation. This has been frustrating to NBC News executives, who at one point had considered going in a radically different direction with the show.

Before choosing Todd, NBC News president Deborah Turness held negotiations with Jon Stewart about hosting Meet the Press, according to three senior television sources with knowledge of the talks. One source explained that NBC was prepared to offer Stewart virtually “anything" to bring him over. "They were ready to back the Brink's truck up," the source said. A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment. James Dixon, Stewart's agent, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Interesting. I'm glad Jon Stewart is still doing the Daily Show. I doubt it would have been a good move for him. NBC's owner doubtless would not have been please the first time Jon Stewart said anything that might have been embarrassing for them.


Anyways while it is often entertainers and celebrities who are guests on the Daily Show. It has a demographic that seems to also draw major policy makers to the show as well.


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[Kadarin]

I don't think Jon Stewart would do nearly as well on a serious program. He's excellent at using humor to highlight hypocrisy in government.

 

[mizzou]

I thought Jon Stewart was going to hand the reigns off to someone else already? He's clearly liberal, but he has his own unique point of view and doesn't tow any party line. He's almost one of the few genuinely liberal people out there who have a grandstand to speak one.

 

[cbrunny]

I love Jon Steward & watch the Daily Show.... well... daily. I have only missed a handful of episodes in the last five or six years. I'm worried that Jon's best shows are behind him. Hopefully the upcoming 2016 election will renew it a bit....

Maybe he should have taken it. I dunno. Regardless there will be opportunities for him when the time does come to step away from TDS

 

[MongGrel]

Hadn't seen that, I'd say he's probably better off where he is.

Waiting to see how the Colbert move gonna work out, but not the same thing of course.

 

[KillerBee]

He's always presented his views well whenever seeing him outside of Daily show
Think he could easily do a Meet The Press once a week.
It would be informative and much more watchable.

But have a feeling his Comedy Central contract says he can't do other shows
at same time

 

[MongGrel]

Probably, I'm sure he could do both easily.

 

[MrCassdin]

He could never transition to a serious show, he's just too much of a douchenozzle for that and in the end, just doesn't care. I'm not faulting him for those things.

 

[squarecut1]

He is too honest a person to do the sucking up to politicians in these "serious" shows. Avoiding all the hard questions, not pointing out the obvious hypocrisies, fooling the audience. No that is not Jon. Leave that to the whores in suits who do these "interviews" on Sundays

He is perhaps the only media person in America who desreves respect, even if you don't agree with him always. I don't agree with all of his liberal views.

 

[mizzou]

He could never transition to a serious show, he's just too much of a douchenozzle for that and in the end, just doesn't care. I'm not faulting him for those things.

I don't know...I feel he is extremely serious on his views. It's the delivery that is eccentric/funny.

 

[squarecut1]

I don't know...I feel he is extremely serious on his views. It's the delivery that is eccentric/funny.

He is a very intelligent and thoughtful person. He uses humor to convey his message.

 

[Anarchist420]

He is perhaps the only media person in America who desreves respect, even if you don't agree with him always. I don't agree with all of his liberal views.

Tony Macrini is really, really good; he refused to do anything far away from Virginia Beach.

 

[squarecut1]

This is what I wrote about Jon in another thread :


I like how Jon Stewart brilliantly exposes our hypocrisy, both domestic and international, in a way only be can. I don't always agree with all of his liberal views, but he is a rare thing in America : someone who shows us the mirror. Badly needed for we are so self righteous in all the wrong we do

 

[blankslate]

He could never transition to a serious show, he's just too much of a douchenozzle for that and in the end, just doesn't care. I'm not faulting him for those things.

I think he does care more than you give him credit for. After all NBC was willing to pay quite a lot if the source is accurate. If he didn't care as you say why not go for the cash?

On the daily show he still gets to interview policy makers and has more freedom to lambaste people / subjects that he wouldn't have working for an establishment bubble Sunday show.

He may be a douchenozzle but he's at least funny... compared to the douchenozzles that couldn't joke their way out of a paper bag and tried a split-S at 200 ft and slammed into the ground.

 

[ivwshane]

I think it's pretty sad that a news organization would even consider a comedian for one of the oldest and what once was a prestigious news show.

It says a lot about where journalism and journalists are in this country, quality wise.

 

[mizzou]

I think it's pretty sad that a news organization would even consider a comedian for one of the oldest and what once was a prestigious news show.

It says a lot about where journalism and journalists are in this country, quality wise.

why would it be sad? Just because he's funny shouldn't bar him from a serious minded role.

 

[KillerBee]

I think it's pretty sad that a news organization would even consider a comedian for one of the oldest and what once was a prestigious news show.

It says a lot about where journalism and journalists are in this country, quality wise.

or else they realized any idiot can ask a politician basic safe questions which everyone expects but they may now want an intelligent person willing to cut through the crap and get real Q&A

 

[ivwshane]

why would it be sad? Just because he's funny shouldn't bar him from a serious minded role.

It's sad because there should be a ton of even more qualified people they could have gone with, with Stewart being on the bottom of the list.

I like Stewart as do a lot of people but I'm guessing they just yearn for good journalism, which is why john Oliver's show has really taken off. They are merely filling a vacuum.

 

[Matt1970]

I think it's pretty sad that a news organization would even consider a comedian for one of the oldest and what once was a prestigious news show.

It says a lot about where journalism and journalists are in this country, quality wise.

I agree.

 

[TheSlamma]

I think it's pretty sad that a news organization would even consider a comedian for one of the oldest and what once was a prestigious news show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfczfHjfn9k

 

[hal2kilo]

I like Jon Stewart, but if this is a true story, it just goes to show the sad state of the profession of journalism in this country.

 

[squarecut1]

Jon Stewart makes me think, and I admire him greatly for that. In the current American culture (not just tv), that is a monumental achievement. Worthy of a national honor

 

[Strk]

I like Jon Stewart, but if this is a true story, it just goes to show the sad state of the profession of journalism in this country.

I think The Daily Show and The Colbert Report typically doing better on studies on informed viewers have already pointed that out.

 

[thraashman]

It's sad because there should be a ton of even more qualified people they could have gone with, with Stewart being on the bottom of the list.

I like Stewart as do a lot of people but I'm guessing they just yearn for good journalism, which is why john Oliver's show has really taken off. They are merely filling a vacuum.

Well what's sad is that a comedian is better at journalism than journalists. It's largely due to how we now live in a Fox News world. Where supposed "news" organizations have come to the conclusion that they thrive better by telling specific groups of people what they want to hear, even if it's blatantly not true. And then you have internet sites like ijreview, examiner, breitbart that make cable news like MSNBC and Fox look like high integrity news organizations in comparison.

The only honestly we get nowadays are from those who mock the rest.

 

[hal2kilo]

The only honestly we get nowadays are from those who mock the rest.

So true. When there was a progressive radio presence, the thing I enjoyed most was them playing the real quotes of the right wing nuts. It was comedy gold.