But the real reason that people call funnyman Stewart "the most trusted news source in America" is that he's an outsider. He rarely worries about offending his journalistic colleagues or angering high-level news sources who won't return his phone calls – because he doesn't really have any. When a senator like John McCain or Chuck Schumer says something dumb, the first thought that goes through the head of Stewart and his ace staff isn't to get their high-powered pal on the phone to help them weasel their way out of it. Instead, it's to find the tape from two years ago when the senator said the exact opposite thing. And when Stewart does attack journalists – as he did post-financial crisis on his epic takedown of CNBC – it is always for being sycophants to the powerful, not because they spoke truth to power. Someone like Stewart or Colbert wouldn't have tried to destroy Gary Webb – they are Gary Webb, just cloaked in humor.