Jon Stewart On “Dying” TV Vs. Social Media: “Heroin Is Heroin”

Greg Evans
·2 min read

Jon Stewart opened this week’s Monday night Daily Show by calling himself the captain of a dying medium, and now we know why.

In an “After the Cut” clip posted today on the Daily Show‘s YouTube channel, Stewart is shown delivering his pre-show warm-up, answering questions from the audience.

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The banter was friendly enough, but even Stewart seemed a bit taken aback when one audience member commented that TV is dying and that young people prefer to get their entertainment and information from social media platforms like TikTok.

Feigning shock – or maybe not feigning all that much – Stewart burbled, “Don’t…what?…no!…no!…sir…”

But the talk host quickly recovered to deliver a word-perfect defense of his medium.

“You still watch TV but you just watch it on your computer [or phone],” he said. “You understand that’s still TV? You’re just watching it on a different delivery service. It’s like, heroin is heroin whether you snort it or shoot it. It’s still an opiate for the masses as is television, you’re just getting it in smaller bites. But it’s still TV. We make it.”

Stewart then said to the audience member – who was off-camera – “You have a look on your face like, ‘This poor boy, if only he knew the business he was in.'”

The After the Cut segment then jumps to “Two Minutes Later” with the opening of the actual episode, with Stewart opening, “Welcome to The Daily Show. I’m your host Jon Stewart, captain of this dying medium. Had a gentleman tell me tonight, ‘Oh I’m so happy to be here, you know television is dying.’

“I said I am aware and in fact I’m contributing to it. You’re welcome.”

Watch the After the Cut video above.

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