Daily Show vs O'Reilly

When John Stewart of the Daily Show appeared on Bill O'Reilly's program, O'Reilly, in his typical bullying and aggressive way refered to Daily Show viewers as a bunch of "stoned slackers". Naturally Stewart didn't take the bait and came back with a joke instead. Well, some people have done a little research and guess what? Seems that the viewers of the Daily Show are actually more educated than the O'Reilly's audience (See Articles Below).

msnbc.msn.com...
www.salon.com...


Not that I needed a study to tell me that. Someone who'd rather watch the funny, yet insightful Daily Show has to be brighter than someone who prefers to watch that right-wing thug O'Reilly bully his guests, tell people to shut up, cut their mikes, encourge shouting matches, then pass himself off as a journalist at the end.

I havent seen the daily show myself, as i dont think we get it here in AUS... But i have watched O'Reilly's show on Fox, and i dont think any show could get much worse...

O'reilly is a bully and as soon as anyone says anything to refute him or says anything to prove his point wrong, he shouts them down and doesnt let them speak. Obviously he is afraid of being proven wrong, and he knows that his opinions are #, otherwise he would let someone say something every once and a while... and if he himself had any brains, he may actually have a debate on a point instead of having a one sided shouting match then cutting the mic of his opponent...

FOX news channel is one of the leastl ike new channels that we have acces to on digital/cable/sattelite TV over here for the pure factthat it is so obviously biased to the right, yet they claim to be fair and balanced.

So they did a little research]. And guess whose audience is more educated?

Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research.

It's a funny little survey. But that's all it is, funny. I mean, you can easily make surveys say what you want. Just stand outside of the o'reily factor and pick the stupidest looking people, and vice versa for the daily show. I put the words in question in bold

[Edited on 27-9-2004 by Herman]

Originally posted by Herman
I mean, you can easily make surveys say what you want. Just stand outside of the o'reily factor and pick the stupidest looking people, and vice versa for the daily show. I put the words in question in bold

[Edited on 27-9-2004 by Herman]

Why bother to have any surveys at all then? People don't like the outcome of one they discredit the source. BTW, I thought Nielsen's was a credible source?

More likely generally means that of course (as i state all the time) exceptions do apply... Basically to say that people who watch the daily show are definately always more intelligent would be very inaccurate... by saying they are MORE LIKELY to be better educated states just that... the daily show viewers are more likely to be better educated... nothing more, nothing less.

You cant just discredit a survey because you disagree with its results... If it had gone the other way, i'm sure you wouldnt have any problems withs the source Herman

It really doesn't suprise me that Daily Show viewers appear to be more eductated. They get that its a joke and don't use it as news.

The majority of people (like my dad) who watch O'Reilly or Rush that I meet are so out of the loop with basic facts that it scares me. They tend to get all of their information from those sources and swear by it. In fact, I think the reason why Fox News is so popular now is due to the fact that the general education level of the average American has hit a new low. Its darn near impossible to even engage in debates with people like this because they're long on new fed opinions but short on actual facts. And instead of wanting to know the facts they just attack you as some wierdo Liberal with a superiority complex. Bush plays on this stupid routine to a tee and his appearance of stupidity makes his supporters feel better.

Its interesting, the deeper we get into the 'information age' the deeper the stupidity level gets with average Americans. I'm not being a snob, it just seems to be going that way.

Weller its because the gap between the rich and poor is increasing... because of this, more and more people cannot afford higher education thus are generally stupider... meanwhile aew can afford this and they are the ones who make the techs and get the money for it.

Originally posted by specialasianX
Weller its because the gap between the rich and poor is increasing... because of this, more and more people cannot afford higher education thus are generally stupider... meanwhile aew can afford this and they are the ones who make the techs and get the money for it.

I agree but don't accept that as an excuse. People have access to libraries, the Internet and a myriad of other sources of education but choose not employ them to their fullest. Even the best education system wouldn't provide the type of knowledge needed to fully understand the issues at hand.

Education is a choice to a large extent, especially with the resources most people have now. Take Rush for example, my Dad and I constantly debate subjects all the time and I always win (for lack of a better term) because whatever I hear him say I research on my own to find out whether he is being truthful or leaving facts out, which is generally what he does. My Dad gets mad at me but I just tell him to look it up himself, which he never does. He doesn't care to become fully informed, he would rather just listen to sound bites and get pissed when someone calls him on what he heard.

What you said is definitely a symptom, but not the total cause. We have too many media choices now that divert people from what they should really know. This is what the Right counts on to win votes and they are winning minds because of it. This forum is a prime example. Few ultra-conservative posters I've seen here have anything intellgent to say on most subjects, they just generally get indignant, throw out a bunch of insults and tell you to stop being a traitor. Its hard for them accept any facts because they look at anything not told to them by Bush or Fox News as propaganda. There are intelligent Conservatives out there, but very few of them seem to enter into the debates. We are left with these American flagged avatar crusaders with a lot of blather but no substance and they represent the majority of who Bush counts on to get him re-elected.

I don't want to harp on this issue, I'm just very close to being a teacher and it saddens me to see so many people choosing ignorance over facts.

[edit on 103030p://111 by Weller]

[edit on 103030p://111 by Weller]

A bit off-topic, but the Daily Show was much better before it got political. It used to be funny-funny, and now it's "The world is going to crap"-funny. I seriously have hardly watched an episode since around 9/11-ish, when they stopped telling jokes.

Damn you Craig Kilborn, you will be my only Daily Show host

I agree as well... i didnt really put too much thought into my last answer :bnghd:

Really its people arent encouraged to take an active interest and to learn abou the issues at hand... in the words of NOFX

theres no point for democracy, when ignorance is celebrated

and in the USA ignorance is celebrated... its the easiest way to keep people in control... keep them ignorant of issues and they wont realise that they are being ripped off

Originally posted by specialasianX
and in the USA ignorance is celebrated... its the easiest way to keep people in control... keep them ignorant of issues and they wont realise that they are being ripped off

Absolutely.

First off, let me say that I've been mis-represented. I disagreed with the results because of the wording. Based on their wording, it leads me to believe that their survey was created for the purpose of saying that the daily show's audience is better educated. I would have also disagreed if it had said the O'reily show's audience is smarter, seeing as how I watch the daily show more often than the O'reily show.

The results might also be because the audience of the daily show is younger, and in "the ol' days" It wasn't at all odd to not go to college. I know that my uncle has around 20 million dollars from a company he created, and he almost flunked out of high school! I'm pretty sure he didn't go to college, and he's really smart.

Secondly, Specialasian, have you lived in America? If so, how long? I think it's wrong of you to be stereotyping us this way. I know that there are a lot of stupid people, but I don't believe that the vast majority of them are in the U.S.A. I listen to NOFX too, and punk. I used to be strongly influenced by it as well. Music can play with ones emotions... That doesn't mean that it's where you got all your opinions from, but it seems to be where your low opinions about Americans comes from. Most of us are pretty intelligent. In fact, pretty close to half of us are pretty liberal. Hell, most of my friends are. I'd say 9 out of 10 of my friends think that Bush is a moron.

It's a little different if you live here in the states. You can say that you live here, and you know from experience. I don't mean to be insulting, specialasian, but you can see why I would be mad at someone who doesn't even live here constantly making these horrible generalizations about us. How would you feel if in most of my posts I included something about Austrailians being primitive, convicts, and just plain stupid? They're all wrong, but they would be especially insulting coming from someone who doesn't even know your way of life.

Herman- The only words you bolded that were of any consequence are "more likely", which are common in statistical analyisis. Let's say 60% of O'Reilly viewers went to college, and 70% of Daily Show viewers did. Now, if you grab one random O'Reilly viewer and one random Daily Show viewer, the Daily show viewer has a 70% chance of being college educated as opposed to 60% for O'Reilly. Hence, they are 'more likely' to be educated.

I thought it was pretty funny when O'Reilly made the remark about "stoned-slackers". It's well known The Daily Show is a must watch amongst those that work in the news media.

Originally posted by specialasianX
Weller its because the gap between the rich and poor is increasing... because of this, more and more people cannot afford higher education thus are generally stupider... meanwhile aew can afford this and they are the ones who make the techs and get the money for it.

This is a misconception I see often about America. Federal Student Aid Programs provide $33 Billion a year for students to get their education. That's not counting what each individual state gives, which is likely billions more. And it isn't the rich getting that money. The poorer you are, the more you get. Believe me it benefits you to have a low income if you want to go to school. It's the upper-middle to upper class kids that don't get much federal aid that are hurting the most when it comes to paying tuition. I had a friend whos parents combined income was over 200k that had a lot of problems paying for school, while someone with an income of 20k had little (other then having to fill out a lot of forms). Any one that really wants to go to college can find a way.

You know, the point of the post was really quite simple....that Bill O'Reilly should check his facts before he spouts off some lie in order to start a fight on his show.

Herman- I make one quote (not including my signature) and ALL of my info comes from NOFX or music... hmmm i dont see your logic... I am merely stating my point of view from what i see and hear and experience with american people... We get alot more exposure to your people and your way of life than you do to ours. Even people i've met from the USA have expressed this point that the people there tend to be quite ignorant (especially of the rest of the world and world issues)... I am offended that you assume all my opinions come from music. I read alot! I surf the net and read news sites from all voer the world. I do alot of research into things that i am interested in... I dont just sit here and listen to punkl rock and go

'Yea society sux coz pennywise sed so!!! Yeah bush Sux coz NOFX sed so!!! Yeah i'm so informed i listen to punk rock'

Pistolpete- but do these kids who get this aid get to go to Ivy league schools? $200k plus, while it is alot, isnt what i'd consider the top of society... I'm referring to people who's parents can pretty much gaurantee them a Yale graduation and a top spot at some huge multi national corporation.... $200k/year is good, but it wont gaurantee a life of luxury for you and your descendents

Originally posted by Herman

So they did a little research]. And guess whose audience is more educated?

Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research.

It's a funny little survey. But that's all it is, funny. I mean, you can easily make surveys say what you want. Just stand outside of the o'reily factor and pick the stupidest looking people, and vice versa for the daily show. I put the words in question in bold

[Edited on 27-9-2004 by Herman]

As Esoterica pointed out the words they use are not only fine, but commonplace in a statistical analyses of demographics. But the fact Neilson Media Research doesn't ring a bell, or you think they "stand outside the O'Reily Factor" to interview stacked people is disturbing to me. I'll explain what's wrong with your assumption after the next related comment by you.

Originally posted by HermanFirst off, let me say that I've been mis-represented. I disagreed with the results because of the wording. Based on their wording, it leads me to believe that their survey was created for the purpose of saying that the daily show's audience is better educated.

Still no. Neilson Media Research didn't make a survey for this. And neither show had a hand in generating the data. Neilson has been tracking the national audience of every show for decades via trap boxes in millions of homes that record every single thing you watch. Prior to becoming a Neilson household you answer a survey about your demographics like income, education, etc.

All the Daily Show did was pull the existing data. They compete with the second airing of O'Reilly so it was actually probably part of an on-going competitive analysis they generate daily. I've got friends in media research that do this all day for CNN, Turner and Cartoon Network. Pull Neilson data. You have access to every show when you subscribe. Nobody questions it. O'Reilly himself lives by Neilson numbers and talks about them all the time.

When he says he's the Most Watched Prime Time Cable News Show he's quoting Nielson. The fact he leaves out that it's obviously slack jawed yokels and people with a college education are more likely to be watching Comedy Central than him is not surprising. He probably knew that and it yanked his chain so much he attacked John's audience as stoned slackers.

If you listen to Bill so much, you should know he doesn't have a lot of respect for our education system, professors or college students...so his criticism is to be expected. I'd bet anything Bill pulls the Neilson data for Daily and all his competitors frequently, and that was his spin on it. Stoned slackers. :shk: He's transparent as he can be. I bet that's bugged him for years now, that Daily gets the educated audience over him at 11.

College educated viewers are simply worth more to high end advertisers than non. Look at the radio version of Neilson... Arbitron. They do the same thing for Conservative AM Hits like Limbaugh. You'd think with 20 million reported listeners he'd be able to secure higher end advertisers than Red Lobster and Auto Zone.... but he can't.

But I digress from my main point, which is Herman you are wrong.

Irrefutably and undeniably wrong. Just like Bill O'Reilly on this one. Have a nice day.

[edit on 28-9-2004 by RANT]

Maybe the slacker part was wrong.!

But really, like I said in the non-mudpit version of this thread..

This statement could be loosely interpreted from the survey as well.
"More College graduates get their news from Comedy Central"..

Both shows are funny, and unfunny..depends on the day..
And of course, neither show, is a news show..

Originally posted by specialasianX
Herman- I make one quote (not including my signature) and ALL of my info comes from NOFX or music... hmmm i dont see your logic..

....Again

That doesn't mean that it's where you got all your opinions from, but it seems to be where your low opinions about Americans comes from.

Now I have to get to school, I'll be back to talk about the rest of the posts later.

[Edited on 28-9-2004 by Herman]

I haven't seen Bill Clinton, or John Kerry on The "No Spin Factor" yet they have been on Daily Show. I have seen Republicans on Daily show, and on the "No Spin Factor", but only Dems and Inds on Daily Show. Maybe Billy Boy no like people who aren't with him, like on his show when the guy said Badnarik and well, hellfire and brimstone would have gotten less of a reaction.