--- title: It's Time for Both Brian Williams and Jon Stewart to Move On description: The news business has fundamentally changed since Brian Williams and Jon Stewart took over NBC Nightly News and The Daily Show. canonical: https://time.com/3704993/brian-williams-nbc-nightly-news-jon-stewart-the-daily-show/ author: Nick Gillespie article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-12T17:01:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:49.035Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Yes, It's Time for Both Brian Williams and Jon Stewart to Move On og:description: The news business has fundamentally changed since Brian Williams and Jon Stewart took over NBC Nightly News and The Daily Show. og:url: https://time.com/3704993/brian-williams-nbc-nightly-news-jon-stewart-the-daily-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c39835caedeeffb/69877eaa3c16395b04451b29/brian-williams-jon-stewart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The New York Comedy Festival And The Bob Woodruff Foundation Present The 7th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Event og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yes, It's Time for Both Brian Williams and Jon Stewart to Move On twitter:description: The news business has fundamentally changed since Brian Williams and Jon Stewart took over NBC Nightly News and The Daily Show. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c39835caedeeffb/69877eaa3c16395b04451b29/brian-williams-jon-stewart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yes, It's Time for Both Brian Williams and Jon Stewart to Move On ## Video: Know Right Now: Brian Williams Suspended Due to Controversy [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Brian Williams Suspended Due to Controversy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NQWfZ9kx.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-02-10. NBC Nightly News host Brian Williams announced over the weekend he would take a leave of absence, after his account of coming under fire while reporting from Iraq was found to be full of holes_ by [Nick Gillespie](https://time.com/author/nick-gillespie/) ## Nick Gillespie Feb 12, 2015 5:01 PM UTC  Brian Williams and Jon Stewart backstage at The New York Comedy Festival And The Bob Woodruff Foundation Present The 7th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, 2013 in New York City. Brian Williams and Jon Stewart backstage at The New York Comedy Festival And The Bob Woodruff Foundation Present The 7th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 6, 2013 in New York City.Bryan Bedder—Getty Images by [Nick Gillespie](https://time.com/author/nick-gillespie/) ## Nick Gillespie Feb 12, 2015 5:01 PM UTC It’s weird that Jon Stewart announced he was stepping away from _The Daily Show_ the same day that NBC announced its [six-month suspension](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/11/nbc-drops-the-hammer-on-brian-williams-six-month-suspension-without-pay.html) of Brian Williams from _NBC Nightly News_. Stewart has long described himself and his show as trafficking in “[fake news](http://time.com/3704321/jon-stewart-daily-show-fake-news/),” whereas Williams is being punished [for faking news about himself](http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/10/nbc-suspends-serial-humble-bragger-brian) (over and over again). One is leaving the small screen on a “[career high note](http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/10/nbc-suspends-serial-humble-bragger-brian),” as _The New York Times_ puts it, while the other is slowly fading away to that great Green Room in the sky. Does anyone really think Brian Williams will be back when his suspension ends? Does anyone really care? In a real way, Jon Stewart and _The Daily Show_, which he’s been hosting since 1999, helped kill off “real news” shows such as _NBC Nightly News_ by making them superfluous. Who needs to watch someone simply read the news when you can watch someone deliver the same information, plus a satire of the medium itself? Especially for people under 50, who have no memories of Papa Cronkite and who remember supposedly legendary anchors such as Dan Rather only for bizarre episodes (“[Kenneth, What is the Frequency?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%5FRather#.22Kenneth.2C%5Fwhat%5Fis%5Fthe%5Ffrequency.3F.22)”) and [outright fabrications](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6055248/ns/politics/t/cbs-news-admits-bush-documents-cant-be-verified/), _The Daily Show_ was a one-stop show for news and commentary on the news. In an age of multi-tasking, that’s a godsend. ### See Jon Stewart's Most Memorable Guests On The Daily Show  Kurt Vonnegut appeared on the show in 2005, one of his last public appearances. Comedy Central  Denis Leary and Jon Stewart have long been friends, so every time the actor appeared on the show, the two comedians would opt to make fun of one another rather than conduct an interview, leaving the audience in stitches Comedy Central  After releasing Hugo in 2011, Martin Scorsese visited the show Comedy Central  Last year, Christopher Walken talked tap dancing on the show Comedy Central  Barack Obama appeared on the show in 2005 as a senator, twice in 2008 as a presidential candidate, again in 2010 during his fist term, and finally in 2012 as he ran for a second term Comedy Central  First Lady Michelle Obama has appeared twice on the Daily Show, once in 2008 and twice in 2012 Comedy Central  During one of Paul Rudd's may appearances on the show, Stewart revealed that the comedian was his first test guest after her took over for Craig Kilborn Comedy Central  Rachel Maddow was a repeat guest on the show where she described Justice Scalia as a "troll," said she could kill Bin Laden with a spoon and declared she was "embarrassed" by Bush Comedy Central Especially in its early years, _The Daily Show_ didn’t just riff on the news and poke fun and roll eyes at the endless spew of stupid and self-serving statements made by celebrities, politicians, and other hucksters. With the help of talented producers, writers, and “correspondents” including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Nancy Walls, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and Larry Wilmore, _The Daily Show_ mimicked perfectly every aspect of network and cable news-gathering. The show was replete with ridiculous camera shots designed to reinforce audience sympathies, godawful banter between host and reporters, even more godawful questioning of people during news segments, and manic graphics that hyped every minor threat as the next great catastrophe facing the planet. And they actually produced stories that were being followed by everyone else in the business. By highlighting how the news is stitched together, _The Daily Show_ helped instill a form of media literacy that is hugely important in a media-saturated age (_The Onion_ provides a similar service for print journalism.) It’s not surprising that in an age of declining audiences for all forms [of TV news](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/young-people-are-fleeing-tv-as-a-main-source-of-news/278781/), _The Daily Show_ reached and held younger viewers, with 18-29 year olds making up 40% of its audience. By deconstructing the news-delivery process, Stewart and company made it new. A decade ago, [when polling data](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/young-get-news-from-comedy-central/) showed that as many young Americans got their news from _The Daily Show_ as from programs like _NBC Nightly News_, the establishment even copped to be “depressed” by the news. Sadly, broadcast and cable news has done little to rejuvenate its form, determined instead to spend millions of dollars a year on hosts such as Williams, whose honesty and news sense are as sleepy and tired as their program’s elderly audiences. But somewhere along Jon Stewart’s and _The Daily Show_’s ascent to legitimacy, awards, and influence, it’s meta-script got more than a little tired. If it once shone a harsh light on how television news skewed its presentations to frighten audiences or pander to power, it eventually succumbed to the same tendencies, especially the sin of self-importance. In a widely celebrated 2004 smackdown of the Punch-and-Judy antics of most cable news debate shows, [Stewart accused CNN _Crossfire_ hosts](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37042-2004Oct15%5F2.html) Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala of “partisan hackery…what you do is not honest.” After the hosts pushed back, Stewart bemoaned in a very mean, very funny rant that something was wrong when “news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity.” ### See Brian Williams Through The Years  Brian Williams was the Editorial Editor for his school newspaper seen here on the far right during his Senior Year at Mater Dei High School in New Monmouth, N.J. in 1977. Seth Poppel—Yearbook Library  From Left: Brian Williams, President George W. Bush and AP writer Glenn Johnson talk aboard Bush's campaign plane in Florence S.C. on Feb. 17, 2000. Reuters  From Left: Brian Williams poses with NBC Anchor Tom Brokaw in New York City prior to Brokaw's last broadcast on Dec. 1, 2004. Richard Drew—AP  Brian Williams during a break in the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" show in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. Dwaine Scott—NBC/AP  Brian Williams reports from Camp Liberty in Baghdad on March 8, 2007. Jeff Riggins—NBC/Getty Images  From Left: President Barack Obama and Brian Williams takes a look at what happens in the White House and the West Wing during a day in the life of the Obama administration on May 29, 2009. Subrata De—NBC/Getty Images  From Left: Amy Poehler, Brian Williams and Seth Meyers on 'Saturday Night LIve' on Nov. 3, 2007. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams "Slow Jam the News" on 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon' on Dec. 2, 2014. Douglas Gorenstein—NBC/Getty Images  From Left: Brian Williams, Allison Williams and Jane Stoddard Williams attend the "Girls" season four series premiere after party at The Museum of Natural History on Jan. 5, 2015. Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images  Brian Williams embraces Army Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak at a hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 29, 2015, where Terpak was honored. Williams admitted to conflating events when describing his experiences in combat with Terpak during the Iraq war. On Feb. 10, he was suspended without pay for six months. James Devaney—GC Images But Stewart started taking himself too seriously, as if his celebrity meant he did in fact have the sort of social responsibility he specifically abjured on _Crossfire_. His 2010 “[Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear](http://reason.com/reasontv/2010/10/30/restoring-sanity-rally),” co-hosted by Stephen Colbert, unironically featured the former Cat Stevens singing “Peace Train” (as the Islamic convert Yusuf Islam, Stevens [seemingly endorsed calls for the murder](http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/3551) of Salman Rushdie for writing _The Satanic Verses_). Worse, it ended in a maudlin plea for peace and tolerance. In a particularly ridiculous moment from last year, Stewart [apologized for saying](http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/06/jon-stewart-apologizes-for-not-voting-do) on CNN (of all places) that he hadn’t voted in the midterm elections. He was “being flip,” he told his own audience later. “It sent a message that I didn’t think voting was important or that I didn’t think it was a big issue. And I do, and I did vote.” Please, when a fake newsman starts thinking his every utterance is being taken seriously and needs to be defended or amended, something has gone very wrong. Stewart has said that _The Daily Show_ “doesn’t deserve an even slightly restless host.” He’s right about that. The show he leaves behind will need to reinvent itself more fundamentally than it might seem at first blush. We all process news very differently now than we did when he first took over hosting duties at _The Daily Show_. That’s in some large part due to Stewart, which he should take as an incredible compliment and his successor should take as an incredible challenge. The director of last year’s well-received drama, _Rosewater_, Stewart’s creative future is still ahead of him. For Brian Williams, a frequent guest on _The Daily Show_, things aren’t so bright. Even as his entire genre of news was sinking like the Titanic, he decided to go ahead and plunge into oblivion all on his own. In an age of rapidly decentralizing and proliferating media, the one role that needn’t be filled is a newsreader whose every utterance will rightly be questioned. ### See Jon Stewart's Career Over the Years  Jon Stewart takes the reins as anchor of The Daily Show in 1999. Comedy Central/Everett  Stewart gets a cameo as Kevin Gerrity in the 1999 Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. Columbia  Jay Leno interviews Jon Stewart on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in 2000. NBC/Getty Images  Stewart plays Marion Frank Stokes in the 2002 black comedy Death to Smoochy Warner Bros.  Jon Stewart and his team win the first of many Emmys for The Daily Show in 2003. Chris Weeks—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Jon Stewart hosts the 78th Academy Awards in 2006. Academy of Motion Picture Arts—WireImage/Getty Images  Stewart has a cameo as himself on The Simpsons in 2008 in the episode "E Pluribus Wiggum." Fox  Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart host the Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear on the National Mall on Oct. 30, 2010 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Jon Stewart interviews President Barack Obama on The Daily Show at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, DC, Oct. 26, 2010. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Jon Stewart speaks at the 51st USO Armed Forces Gala & Gold Medal Dinner on Dec. 13, 2012 in New York City. Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Stewart makes his directorial debut in the 2014 drama Rosewater. Open Road Films  Jon Stewart announces his retirement for the end of 2015. 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