News is funny

The Television Critics Association released their nominations for their annual awards, and showed a bit of canny insight that I might not have expected.

First off, Andy Richter Controls the Universe was nominated for best comedy, not that anyone in the viewing public would ever know, because they didn't watch it, and it was subsequently cancelled earlier in the season. Too bad, because it was hysterical, and inventive in a way nearly all current broadcast comedies are not, but I've covered that ground before. I am also happy to say that, despite Chicago Tribune TV critic Steve Johnson's unfathomable affinity for it, Friends did not make the cut.

Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was also in the comedy mix, which is as it should be, being the most consistently funny show on TV, even at four nights a week. But what is perhaps more telling is that the show garnered a nomination in the best news and information show category. That's right, The Daily Show is, in the eyes of the critics, comparable to 60 Minutes and Nightline as a news program.

I don't know how seriously anyone takes these awards, so I don't know if there would any far-reaching significance if TDS took both the best comedy and best news awards. On some level, it would make a fairly strong statement about how the news has become just another form of entertainment, or that the biases of corporate parentage (oh, come on, you knew I'd come back to that) slant opinions so much that a show that flat-out mocks the news is just as credible as shows that pretend to take the news both seriously and objectively. On the other hand, and I've said this many times before, Jon Stewart and company have done yeoman's work in bringing on guests from the political sphere, and as a result, have probably done more to educate their audience than any other show aimed at a college-age demographic.

So, it's entirely possible that this nomination could be both a recognition of the good The Daily Show has done, and a refutation of how inane news programming has gotten elsewhere. In the Daily parlance, huzzah and kudos to the Critic's Association for making such a bold statement in either direction. TDS, incidentally, is also up for program of the year, which just means it's darn good television, without all the other implications and speculations.