The Daily Show

About The Daily Show

The Daily Show (known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning American satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States. The half-hour long show premiered on Monday, July 22, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn, who acted as its anchorman until his departure in December 1998. Jon Stewart took over as host in January 1999, bringing a number of changes to the show's content. Under Stewart The Daily Show has become more strongly focused around politics and the national media, in contrast with the more character-driven focus during Kilborn's tenure.

Describing itself as a "fake news" program, The Daily Show draws its comedy from recent news stories, satirizing political figures and media organizations. The show typically opens with a monologue from the host relating to recent headlines and frequently features exchanges with one or more of several correspondents, who adopt absurd or humorously exaggerated takes on current events against Stewart's straight man persona. The final act is reserved for a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to nonfiction authors and political figures.

The program has increasingly grown in popularity since Stewart took over hosting with organizations such as the Pew Research Center claiming that it has become a primary source of news for many young people, an assertion the show's staff have repeatedly rejected. Critics, including series co-creator Lizz Winstead, have chastised Stewart for not conducting hard-hitting enough interviews with his political guests, some of whom he may have previously lampooned in other segments; while others have criticized the show as having a liberal bias. Stewart and other Daily Show writers have responded to both criticisms by saying that they do not have any journalistic responsibility and that as comedians their only duty is to provide entertainment.