Jon Stewart, International Man of News

Just landed in the U.K. for a quick bout of pre-release publicity for SuperFreakonomics.

Checked in at the hotel, turned on the TV to unpack, flipped through the channels, and came to CNN. I was expecting to see a familiar face, and I did. But not Wolf, not Campbell, not Larry: instead, it’s Jon Stewart.

Yes, it turns out that CNN International airs a “global edition” of The Daily Show. Apparently this has been going on for several years, but I never knew.

If, as alleged, a lot of U.S. viewers consider Stewart their chief source of the news when he’s on Comedy Central, just imagine what international viewers think when they find him on CNN.

Maybe so many people around the world disliked President Bush based on what they saw of him on TDS? Does the Norwegian Nobel Committee, e.g., know that it is not an actual news program?

[Addendum: Having read some of the comments below, I must conclude that I am a horrible writer or some of you cannot take a joke. Or perhaps both?]