Stewart and Colbert: fake news, real books
A story in Sunday’s New York Times outlines the recent, unexpected discovery made by many authors and book publicists in the U.S.: when it comes to getting interviewed on television, you are better off with the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than with, say, Regis Philbin or even Charlie Rose.
Take Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi “banker to the poor” who recently appeared on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on Comedy Central after it was announced that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Tell me about microfinancing and microlending,” Mr. Stewart asked earnestly. “Because there’s a theory that you developed through your work in economics that has really proven to be incredibly effective in fighting poverty.”Mr. Stewart has also interviewed Ishmael Beah, the young Sierra Leonian who just published “A Long Way Gone,” a memoir about his wrenching experience as a child soldier; Jeffrey Rosen, the George Washington University law professor who wrote “The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America”; and Vali Nasr, the Middle East expert who was promoting “The Shia Revival,” an examination of ethnic conflict in Iraq.
Since when did microlending, global poverty, constitutional law and civil wars in Africa become topics for frank discussion on fake-news comedy shows?
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