It's no Weekend Update

Truth be told, it's far better than the Saturday Night Live mainstay. It's actually funny, and according to a recent study, it's just as good at getting out substantial news as most other news programs.

All of this is big praise for The Daily Show, the program which saw its host appear on Crossfire and label them "bad for America". When Tucker Carlson fired back, Stewart pointed out that his show is a comedy newscast, and that it's following a show featuring puppets. However, according to the study published by Indiana University, it looks like the joke may finally be on the major news programs.

Admittedly, the study focuses on the Presidential Election of 2004, but it does carry a resounding rebuttal for any news pundit who wants to dismiss the house that Stewart built out of hand because of its place on Comedy Central. After all, if The Daily Show can be as substantial as the nightly newscasts, what could this hold for the future of television news?

Will we see Katie Couric start bantering with a studio audience while she reads about the White House? How about Brian Williams getting one of his reporters to stand in front of a green-screen in place of being on location, replete with jokes about the action purportedly taking place? And can we really be that far from the debut of "The Lauer Hauer", where the Today show co-host plays the part of an Olbermann-like pundit, complete with his take-off on the "Worst Persons in the World"?

The study is rather heartening, by showcasing that not only can the news be funny, but it can also be incredibly informative at the same time. If this particular trend continues, and Stewart can keep the reins of the show firmly in hand, perhaps The Daily Show will assume the title of "The Most Trusted Name in News". Then, in honor of the great comedy newscasters that have come before, Jon will be forced to call the title an "ignorant slut".

Ultimately, this bodes well for the world. Perhaps this means that we're starting to take ourselves less seriously. At the very least, it lets us know that we can.