Is fake suddenly the new real?

For the past few months I have been religiously tuning into Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." In lieu of real news programs, which boast their own dry reports of the world today, I have been drawn towards "The Daily Show" to follow the latest headlines and laugh at them. What is really ironic about this show is that it is a fake news program. But on this fake news show, headlines seem to be humorous, more informative and suddenly witty, begging the question: is fake the new real?\nWhy would fake be more appealing than real? Well, first of all, fake news seems to be unbiased and equally makes fun of everyone. For example, on Fox News coverage is terribly biased to the right, and I can hardly take it seriously. But "The Daily Show" presents all the facts in an a way that mocks everyone, without choosing sides. Then there is CNN, the 24 hour news network, which presents neverending coverage on its own political agenda -- read leftist.\nHowever, I can turn to "The Daily Show" every night at 11 p.m. and, in only one half hour, get more news than I ever expected. As a political news program, I clearly see the truth behind our current presidential administration and the ongoing race for the democratic nomination. "The Daily Show"'s "Indecision 2004" gives honest and insightful looks into all candidates -- candidly making fun of them. During one special report on presidential hopeful, Howard Dean, "Daily Show" Senior Political Analyst Stephen Colbert referred to Dean as "Mean Dean." Colbert described Dean's approach as too angry towards the Bush administration by explaining, "If this country liked mean presidents, JFK would have beaten all those secretaries instead of nailing them."\nWhat this program really does is put it all into perspective. Every other news program brings on a bunch of experts, who tell us what is going to happen and then what they predict never does. "The Daily Show" makes no claim to any of these predictions, only releasing outrageous commentary on it all. During the Janet Jackson boob scandal it discussed the media's overexposure to the event -- by playing the event over and over again. \nMore recently in the media, President Bush's military service has been thoroughly questioned by the White House press corps. In his report, Jon Stewart brought up a valid point, "I have just one question for the press corps, where the fuck have you been?!" His point: when the White House finally admitted to not having any information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the press corps remained relatively silent.\nAnd in the tragedy that is our presidential administration, "The Daily Show" has fairly mocked every move it has made. And unlike other late night programs, this show has an interesting range of guests instead of the usual celebrity promoting their latest film. "The Daily Show" has produced guests such as The New York Times crossword puzzle writer, scientists from NASA and many different political leaders.\n"The Daily Show" has taken the idea of political satire and irony to a whole new level, and on television's most politically incorrect station no less. So, in light of real versus fake, I have to say, the rest of the media may want to take a hint. If I have to hear endless reports about whether George Bush actually did serve in the military, I might at least laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation is.