The Role of Journalist and the Performance of Journalism: Ethical Lessons From “Fake” News (Seriously)

Abstract

Some have suggested that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS) and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report (TCR) represent a new kind of journalist. We propose, rather, that Stewart and Colbert are imitators who do not fully inhabit the role of journalist. They are interesting because sometimes they do a better job performing the functions of journalism than journalists themselves. However, Stewart and Colbert do not share journalists' moral commitments. Therefore, their performances are neither motivated nor constrained by these commitments. Using a virtue theory framework, we suggest that this distinction between journalists and their imitators is morally significant because it implies differences in the kinds of excellence these moral agents are pursuing in their work. Rather than evaluating the work of Colbert and Stewart in the role of journalists, we propose analyzing their contributions to media ethics in the role of media critics.

Notes

Stewart to CNN Hosts: “Stop … Stop … hurting America. And come work for us.… We need your help. Right now you're helping the politicians and the corporations and we're left out there.… You are part of their strategy. You are partisan hacks.” Moments later, Stewart to hosts: “But my point is this, if your idea of confronting me is that I don't ask hard-hitting enough news questions, we are in bad shape fellas.… I'm here to confront you because we need help from the media and they're hurting us.” Stewart to hosts: “You have a responsibility to public discourse and you fail miserably.”

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer responded to Maher's words: “… they're reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do. This is not a time for remarks like that; there never is.” (Office of the Press Secretary, 2001)

Our thanks to Andrew R. Cline for these insights.