The Daily Show and Rhetoric

Trischa Goodnow’s The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies is an important contribution toward the study of an important artifact of contemporary popular culture. This volume assembles a strong, diverse set of voices to explore the significance of this television series. The book not only illuminates its object of study but suggests several ways to understand the intersection of popular culture and rhetorical media. -- Barry Brummett, University of Texas-Austin
In her introduction to this objective essay collection, Goodnow (Oregon State Univ.) asserts The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an entertainment program on Comedy Central, persuades by means of political satire. In their 13 essays, contributors compare The Daily Show to traditional news; consider the political arguments that host Jon Stewart makes; discuss strategies used to inform audiences; and contemplate the ways in which the show handles specific issues, such as race, religion, and sexual preference. The volume is similar to Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post Network Era, ed. by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey Jones, and Ethan Thompson (CH, Sep'09, 47-0107), but is of course more limited topically. Accordingly, it is a resource for those maintaining comprehensive collections in political communication. * CHOICE *