Jon Stewart Goes On Fox News Sunday

"How does it feel to be in the belly of the beast?"

This was the initial question asked of , The Daily Show comedian, Jon Stewart by host, Chris Wallace, at the beginning of his appearance on Fox News Sunday. You can watch the full exchange below.

The debate itself was a plethora of heated moments, pointed criticisms and powerful insights. And, as anticipated, Stewart doesn't hold back when it comes to pointing out Fox's many failures. At one point, he nearly shouts as he asks his host, "who are the most consistently misinformed media viewers? The most consistently misinformed? Fox, Fox viewers, consistently, every poll."

But Stewart not only lambasts Fox for their transgressions, he also disparages the current state of Mainstream Media. "The bias of the Mainstream Media is toward sensationalism, conflict and laziness," seemed to be Stewart's choice mantra throughout the debate. Stewart supplemented this sentiment with the following statement:

24 hour new networks are built for one thing and that's 9/11…They're not just going to say there's not that much that is urgent and important or conflicted happening today, so we are going to... bring forth more conflict and more sensationalism because we want you to continue watching us 24 hours a day and seven days a week, even when the news doesn't necessarily warrant that type of behavior.

The topic of debate was, fundamentally, about media bias, but this somewhat segued into a thought provoking discussion about the differences between Stewart and the very Pundits he consistently mocks on The Daily Show. For instance, when Wallace prompts his guest to own up to pushing an ideological agenda, Stewart retorts:

I think that I am pushing comedy, and my ideological agenda informs it at all times…My ideology is at times liberal, at times could lean more conservative, but it's about absurdity. It's about absurdity, and it's about corruption. And that is the agenda that we push it is anti-corruption, ant- lack of authenticity, it's anti-contrivance.

In this vein, he goes on to say, "The embarrassment is that I'm givien credibility in this world because of the disappointment the public has in what the news media does, not because I have an ideological agenda.'"

If this exchange proves anything it is that Stewart is a force to be reckoned with. Despite having no control of the framing or editing, The Daily Show host comes off as informed, witty and well-grounded.

High Lights

Part 1

Part 2