While we always worry when we find ourselves in agreement with Mediaite, we are happy to see the idea we promoted last week picking up some steam. And nothing doubles our resolve in seeing “Red Eye” moved to a more prominent Fox News Channel time slot than what we’re witnessing this week at the hands of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. With 2012 looming, the Right desperately needs a dog in this satirical fight, preferrably one that’s allowed to howl before 3 a.m.
The only thing more maddening than not having a weapon, is having a weapon that’s not being used properly. In the form of the “Red Eye” crew, Fox News has a proven talent at their disposal and there’s obviously a market for a primetime, satirical look at the day’s events. Does anyone doubt that Colbert and Stewart’s relentless leftism drives people away? And anyone who’s seen an episode of “Red Eye” knows there’s no one better suited to pick that audience up than Greg Gutfeld.
Mediaite’s Matt Schneider makes the same case:
First, why does Red Eye deserve the larger audience that would no doubt be waiting for it at an earlier time slot? Besides regularly featuring intelligent debates, provocative guests and hilarious comedy bits, Red Eye is unique in that it is basically the only conservative answer to many left-leaning successful comedy shows like Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Today’s generation of young information seekers often prefer to be entertained while getting the news and Maher, Stewart and Colbert can often be the only means by which some young people stay informed. Red Eye can serve a similar purpose and fill the comedic void that young conservative-leaning Americans no doubt desire.
That’s true to a point but there’s something bigger and more important to consider here. The mainstream media — and that includes Mediaite — uses the likes of Colbert, Stewart, and SNL as weapons to bludgeon conservatives with. Call it the Tina Fey Factor. These entertainers know and count on the news media viralizing their most potent attacks against the right — and the news media never fails to comply. With a potent talent like Gutfeld in a slot that doesn’t require DVR viewing the next day after the news cycle has already moved on, right-of-center ideas have a real chance at earning a seat at this table.
People who understand the power of satire, especially in the way the mainstream media intentionally amplifies it to damage conservatives, say all the time, “Why don’t we have our Jon Stewart? Why don’t we have our own Stephen Colbert?”
Well, guess what? We do. And it’s time to stop making such a secret of him.
