The Daily Show on the newspaper industry

Jason Jones visits the office of The New York Times:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=230076&title=end-times

It's funny because it's true ... or maybe not .

 

It was extremely funny. And sad.

The grilling of the editor, asking him what news in the paper happened "today" was cringeworthy and very incisive.

 

What a land line!

Look at me I'm a reporter from the 80s. It's like an old Colonial Williamsburg.

 

I thought it was great...I was just going to post it here.

I can't decide whether I admire the Times for having the sense of humor to let this happen, or wonder what they were thinking. Probably a combination of both.

 

At this point, they'll probably take any publicity they can get.

 

I'm going with B. It almost felt like other than Keller, the other two had no idea Jason Jones was going to be there and what his agenda was.

Man, the part where he throws the other editor a paper and says, "Show me one thing in there that happened today" was painful.

I don't know if I can watch it again because I haven't decided yet whether it was funny or very insulting.

 

I just don't get it. Why is the collapse of the newspaper industry funny?

 

Well, it's a reasonable question but of course, in a business where our columnists have been known to roast pretty much anything of this kind, it's hard for us to be thin-skinned when the tables are turned.

 

You and I can laugh along with that segment, but I'm guessing that a lot of people under 30 have taken or are taking to heart the stuff about "aged" news and landlines and doing things the way those operations did 150 years ago.

As much as newspapers are tilting toward their Web sites, their brands and their feet still are firmly planted in a print culture that has little appeal to young news consumers (them that exist). The line as he held up a fresh copy of that day's Times about, "You know who would love this? My grandma" was one that really stung because it's so damn true.

 

It's not really true, though, because the proverbial "red ink" would be on the income statement, not the balance sheet. It's the income statement that details profit/loss, on its literal "bottom line."

I demand an apology from the Daily Show. And maybe a coffee mug and T-shirt.

 

I like the part where he smashes the computer by spinning it.

 

Hmmm ... was someone an accounting major in college?