The Daily Show News

I just have to post this little item from the International Herald Tribune via Salon's gossip column, The Fix:

Stewart, the new Rather? CBS chairman Les Moonves says the network plans to make sweeping changes in the way it covers news after Dan Rather departs in March, acknowledging that the changes are directly related to the network's recent Memogate scandal. Had that not happened, "the look would have been different," he said. "The feel would have been different. Obviously, when something like this happens, it makes you examine a little further and perhaps go even further. In fact, as opposed to an evolution, maybe we're dealing with a revolution." He says the network may try multiple anchors, rather than one "voice of God, single anchor" -- and may make a play for a younger audience by hiring someone like, say, "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart. "That's one of the possibilities we're looking into," said Moonves. "Jon Stewart is part of our company, and we speak regularly about all sorts of different things," (International Herald Tribune)

I don't for a second imagine Jon Stewart taking this more seriously than for it to perhaps end up as a tasty news item on tonight's Daily Show. It's hard to imagine an outfit like CBS would allow him the latitude he requires. Those poison darts he fires are what make his show so mainstream-media-unfriendly.

But it does make for interesting speculation. Can't you picture Lewis Black as a younger Andy Rooney? Journalism aside, imagine how O'Reilly, Rush, Coulter and Hannity would react. The sputtering outrage! Liberal bias!! It's an interesting thought. If you own your liberal bias, what, really, can they say? Rush: "LIBERAL BIAS!!!!!" CBS: "Yeah. So?"