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End of an Era
The heck with Brian Williams. This guy will really be missed 
"It’s hard to imagine a presidential election without Jon Stewart at “The Daily Show,” but we are going to have to get used to it now that the host of the landmark political comedy program of our era is leaving his desk before the first primary of 2016.
In a stunning announcement during the taping of his show on Tuesday, Mr. Stewart announced that after more than 16 years of telling jokes at 11 p.m., he would do his final show before the end of this year, which represents the end of one of the most impressive and influential runs in talk-show history.
Coming not long after Stephen Colbert concluded his virtuosic “Colbert Report,” it’s also the end of an era of incredibly sharp topical nightly television at Comedy Central. “The Daily Show’s” impact on late night was arguably as great as that of prestige HBO shows like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” on television drama.
Before Mr. Stewart, we didn’t expect much from nightly political humor. Late-night monologues were at best funny diversions, at worst toothless jabs pandering to the easiest stereotypes. Just as David Letterman raised the ambition of comedy on talk shows, Mr. Stewart proved that nightly topical humor could be hilarious while also being as incisive and passionate as the best news organizations.
"“The Daily Show” didn’t just offer insightful, cutting analysis, clever parody and often hard-hitting interviews with major newsmakers. For an entire generation, it became the news, except this report could withstand the disruption of the Internet far better than the old media. If anything, the web only made “The Daily Show,” with its short segments, more essential. Every time a political scandal exploded or a candidate made headlines or a cable fight went viral, the first thought for many viewers was: I can’t wait to see what Jon Stewart will say about this."
"It’s hard to imagine a presidential election without Jon Stewart at “The Daily Show,” but we are going to have to get used to it now that the host of the landmark political comedy program of our era is leaving his desk before the first primary of 2016.
In a stunning announcement during the taping of his show on Tuesday, Mr. Stewart announced that after more than 16 years of telling jokes at 11 p.m., he would do his final show before the end of this year, which represents the end of one of the most impressive and influential runs in talk-show history.
Coming not long after Stephen Colbert concluded his virtuosic “Colbert Report,” it’s also the end of an era of incredibly sharp topical nightly television at Comedy Central. “The Daily Show’s” impact on late night was arguably as great as that of prestige HBO shows like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” on television drama.
Before Mr. Stewart, we didn’t expect much from nightly political humor. Late-night monologues were at best funny diversions, at worst toothless jabs pandering to the easiest stereotypes. Just as David Letterman raised the ambition of comedy on talk shows, Mr. Stewart proved that nightly topical humor could be hilarious while also being as incisive and passionate as the best news organizations.
"“The Daily Show” didn’t just offer insightful, cutting analysis, clever parody and often hard-hitting interviews with major newsmakers. For an entire generation, it became the news, except this report could withstand the disruption of the Internet far better than the old media. If anything, the web only made “The Daily Show,” with its short segments, more essential. Every time a political scandal exploded or a candidate made headlines or a cable fight went viral, the first thought for many viewers was: I can’t wait to see what Jon Stewart will say about this."
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