STANDFIRST Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but later branched out to television, hosting Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim leading to his first Emmy Award in 2001.

STORYTEXT Stewart himself has also gained significant acclaim among some viewers as a flippant satirical critic of the Bush administration and of personality-driven media shows, in particular the coverage of the U.S. news media networks CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his “fake news” desk. Stewart himself agrees, countering that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. In spite of its self-professed entertainment mandate, The Daily Show has been nominated for a number of news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th Academy Awards and the 80th Academy Awards and is the co-author of America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction which was one of the best-selling books in the U.S in 2004.