Thank goodness for Jon Stewart. I can recall watching his first talk show on MTV many years ago, but it was not until the 2000 election that I became hooked on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Since then, not only do I credit Stewart with getting me interested in the news and politics, but on a nightly basis, he does in 25 minutes what the 24-hour networks cannot do in a day: inform me.

Recently, Glenn Beck featured Michael Scheuer as a guest on his program. Scheuer said Osama Bin Laden needs to gather his troops and attack America again because that is the only way the American government will protect its people. Instead of beating his guest with a stick, or at least arguing with him, Beck more or less agreed with the sentiment.

I am all for freedom of thought and speech. Let the guy say what he thinks. Hypocrisy, not so much. When Bill Maher loses the smartest show on television because he said the 9/11 terrorists were not cowards, and this guy can, without consequences, call for another attack on America so his idea of good government can play itself out, things are not fair and balanced.

Stewart demonstrated his point by swearing at the man, then telling his viewers that they did not hear the curse word because the government decided we should hear a bleep instead. Obviously, Stewart’s one word was worse than saying America needs another terrorist attack.

That was not the only mistake on Fox’s part. Also pointed out on Stewart’s program, Fox has again resorted to calling criminal Republicans Democrats. It is an ever-so-sly move, simply replacing the “R” by the politicians name and replacing it with a “D.” Presto! It is no longer the Republican hypocrisy machine back in action, it’s another one of those darned Democrats! In this case, the politician in question just happens to be disgraced South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who also happens to be the head of the Republican Governor’s Association. Oops!

To do this once is a mistake. Fox has done it at least three times, each involving a highly hypocritical Republican politician who made a stand on an issue at some point, then was caught smashing that ideal. One might call this yellow journalism, but I happen to like the color yellow, and this is no where close to journalism.

Finally, Stewart’s reporters often break away from the show to form successful careers of their own. Ed Helms moved to NBC’s “The Office” and recently starred in “The Hangover.” Rob Corrdry has been in a variety of films. Stephen Colbert, now with his own show on Comedy Central, has had no problem keeping his name in the national media.

It was on Colbert’s show that I learned of Missouri Republican Cynthia Davis’ disdain of the free lunch program. Davis thinks anyone over the age of 16 should work at McDonalds so they can get free food there, and not on the taxpayer’s dime. Also, she thinks “hunger can be a positive motivator.”

My writer hero Ernest Hemingway had similar sentiments in his early days in France. The difference is, Hemingway was a capable adult and consciously made the decision to go hungry, not a kid relying on responsible parents for the most basic of needs, and in their absence, using a government that could occasionally try to care for its needy.

I enjoyed Colbert’s solution. After quoting a Bible verse (he is, after all, a Sunday school teacher) and adding in a passage about letting kids starve, Colbert used Davis’ logic to determine that her ability to eat was holding her career back. Anyone who sees Davis eating, even in her own dining room, should take her food away.

Obviously, Stewart’s show slants to the left, and my tilt that way began around the same time I began watching his show. But really, who should we take more seriously? People who say the most ridiculous of things and the network that supports them, or the guy who makes fun of these people?

Talk about your worst day ever. Just before 11:30 a.m. last Friday, Farrah Fawcett, 62, died of cancer in a Santa Monica hospital. Fawcett, whose well-publicized bout with cancer was featured in Fawcett’s documentary “Farrah’s Story,” should have been the news of the day. Several hours later, however, Michael Jackson, 50, died and Fawcett’s final story slipped to the back page.

It’s generally sad when people die. More tragic than the passing celebrity, I’ve always thought the unnoticed dead are among life’s great sorrows. How can one go through life so alone that no one, not even a friend or a family member, misses him when he is gone? Obviously, we never hear about these deaths.

On the other extreme, the passing of certain celebrities goes a bit far in the other direction. I understand the importance of these people. Though I never cared a whole lot for Jackson’s music, I understand that 100 million copies is a monumental achievement not possible without a huge base of devoted fans, many of whom probably considered Jackson their idol. My aim is not to trivialize a hero’s death, but to point a finger at the major media factions that should know better.

I began my news watching days with Fox News about nine years ago. I watched Bill O’Reilly every night and kept Fox News on all day during my first two years of college. Tiring of the propaganda and busy broadcasts — could they fit any more graphics onto one screen? — I turned to MSNBC. This channel seemed legitimate for a while, but after the firing of Don Imus, morning news became unbearable to watch and the station’s hard turn to the left took away my chance at objective news.

That is how I ended up at CNN many months ago, and how I learned of Jackson’s death last week. After about an hour of coverage, however, I remembered that a 24-hour network can only repeat the same few known facts a limited number of times. After that, the broadcast essentially becomes useless despite the bright yellow graphic that says breaking news. It was breaking news on Thursday. By Sunday, though, the only thing breaking was CNN’s piggy bank of credibility.

I kept my coverage of the event limited, but was saddened that I could not tune in for other news events. Unlike the Jackson death, the situation in Iran was full of constantly changing news. Though I cannot condone the use of Twitter, I understand CNN’s use of the technology, and appreciate the risks taken by protesters in Iran to share the news. The fact is, American news stories generally lack the need for 24-hour coverage because our society is fairly stable.

But there was CNN, Anderson Cooper to be specific, telling his viewers that he was only going to report on the facts. For the next 20 minutes, he and others discussed possible drug use by Jackson. Someone used the word “may,” and another said “I think.” Since when did these become standards of good journalism? Imagine this from November, 1963: “This just in, we think President Kennedy has been shot.”

CNN’s reporting on Jackson’s death says a lot about people. As a coworker said last week, if he turned on CNN and they were not talking about the possible causes of Jackson’s death, he would change it to a channel that was. A market is born. As was the case with Imus, where MSNBC fired an employee because of lost revenue potential, so too is CNN looking to the dollar and ratings over credibility of reporting. When did the news become a reality show?

The fact that Jackson was a celebrity does not better society’s argument, either. Over the past decade, we have heard little positive about Jackson, yet his idol status remains worldwide. One recent report mentioned a $400 million debt. This is on top of the hundreds of millions he made and spent. Only a celebrity could get away with that.

And therein lies the problem: our fascination with celebrities. Everyone hates the photographers who stalk celebrities, but we still go out and buy the magazines that use those photographs.

Comedian Dave Chappelle talked about Jackson in his 2004 special “For What It’s Worth.” It may be the finest one hour of comedy I’ve seen, as Chappelle turns to social issues really for the first time. Why did Jackson have all those crazy surgeries? To please his fans. Why do movie phone numbers always begin with 555? Because someone in the audience will try to call the number and talk to the character. Chappelle says he did ads for both Pepsi and Coke. He couldn’t even taste a difference, he just liked the brand that paid him more.

My own ad this week would feature another celebrity of sorts. A Michael Jackson “Thriller” album: $15. The legendary Farrah Fawcett poster: $20. Watching CNN’s Wolf Blitzer interrupt himself to watch a Jackson Five clip: priceless. Ridiculous, but priceless.