An irate Jon Stewart tells the news media what they can do with their polls
The Daily Show host's pre-midterms prediction is that overhyped poll reporting is "speculative nonsense in IMAX."
Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, was less than pleased with the media's fixation on political polls leading up to the midterm elections. He began his monologue by mocking the hyperbole used by pundits to describe the races, from "blue wave" to "blue tsunami" to "blue bomb cyclone" to "blue wave and a brown tsunami." Stewart then shifted his focus to the media model that turns each 24-hour news cycle into a chyron and prop-heavy spectacle, with paid commentators confidently speculating on how Americans will vote.
Stewart criticized the media for their reliance on polls, noting that no matter how hard they try, they cannot escape the constant barrage of prediction and speculation. He highlighted the disclaimers that accompany these polls, which often cite a margin of error of up to 11 percent, or worse, acknowledge that their polling could be either "dead-on" or might underestimate one party or the other.
Stewart even took a jab at The New York Times, whose small print admitted that their polling could be either "dead-on" or might underestimate Republicans or Democrats.
The comedian went so far as to imitate the late Stephen Stucker from Airplane!, exclaiming, "Even The New York Times is saying, 'It's a poll! Or maybe it's a hat! Or a brooch! Or maybe it's a pterodactyl!'" Stewart's frustration with the media's behavior reached a boiling point, and he attempted to leave the set, even attempting to leap over his desk to strangle CNN data analyst and manic prop comic Harry Enten.
To drive home his point, Stewart showed a montage of election nights throughout history, with anchors repeatedly lamenting the accuracy of their breathless poll-watching. He ended his rant by imploring the news media to start "soothing our nerves with information and context," rather than "amplifying them with speculation you admit has little value," before once again erupting in frustration at pundits citing for-profit betting sites' results as evidence of the American electorate's desires.
Written by urgent.news from The A.V. Club's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
