NPR Radio Interview Analysis

NPR invited Jon Stewart to discuss the Daily Show and it's pivotal stand in the world of news.

The interview was held in New York City with an audience of a thousand.

The interviewer knew previously that Stewart had modified the format of his show, The Daily Show, to encompass more of a political view with satire, rather than just mocking the news.

The interviewer, Terry Gross, started the discussion with a clip from Stephen Colbert, former "correspondent" of the Daily Show and now host of his own news-related comedy, "The Colbert Report."

This opened her first question to Stewart, has the show made Stewart more politically attuned?

Stewart answered the question thoughtfully, answering that the show had not made him more passionate about politics but rather taught him to emotionally respond to government corruption.

As the interview continues, Stewart discusses his position in news media.

Gross finally states that the Daily Show is journalism.

Stewart responded, "We don't do anything but make the connections," he says. "We're just going off our own instinct of, 'What are the connections to this that make sense?' And this really is true: We don't fact-check [and] look at context because of any journalistic criteria that has to be met; we do that because jokes don't work when they're lies. We fact-check so when we tell a joke, it hits you at sort of a gut level — not because we have a journalistic integrity, [but because] hopefully we have a comedic integrity that we don't want to violate."

Stewart explains that his show takes the news, especially when it's sad, and sends it through a prism of humor.

Gross, tends to compliment Stewart's antics on the show and then asks Stewart's opinion on his antics.

Throughout Stewart's explanations, a dialogue finally emerges between Gross and Stewart and it starts to feel more of a conversation.

There was not a clear strategy from Gross.

Her line of questions derived from Stewart's explanation.

Steward handled each question with sincere honesty and humor, making the interview easy-going and personal.

We, as listeners, learn a different side of Stewart, aside from his usual critique of politics.

We get to look at Stewart as a family man and how he separates his professional life from his personal.

Gross's line of questioning came organically.

Gross's tone was causal but informative, making the interview less intense but more of a learning experience.

I think the tone of the interview matched who was being interviewed.

I think that is an important factor when conducting interviews, to know who you're interviewing and to assess how the interviewing environment should be.

Overall, the interview was entertaining and informative.