The brilliance of Jon Stewart

From an interview on NPR's Fresh Air:

STEWART: These political parties ... are basically dedicated to figuring out how to gain the system. And they have found, I think, the real vulnerability in our media. And they are exploiting that loophole.

The vulnerability is twofold. One is the pace at which the 24-hour networks have, so it's sort of their deadline pressure. And the other is that the anchors are not versed in an expertise of news; they are TV people. And so those two together form sort of a conspiracy of a non-aggression pact, if you will. And it allows these talking-point robots, operatives from different political parties, to go on these shows and basically lay it out there without question. And it's done to influence people through repetition.

HOST: So deceptive content never gets challenged, nobody ever gets to the bottom of it.

STEWART: I wouldn't say "never," but the prevailing sense is that if it is challenged, it's in print and a week later.

If you happen to listen and want to skip ahead to this segment, start around the 14-minute mark.