The Daily Show Effect

Two political science professors at Eastern Carolina have published an article called "The Daily Show Effect: Candidate Evaluations, Efficacy, and American Youth" that purports to show the negative effects of Jon Stewart on young voters:

We test the effects of a popular televised source of political humor for young Americans: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. We find that participants exposed to jokes about George W. Bush and John Kerry on The Daily Show tended to rate both candidates more negatively, even when controlling for partisanship and other demographic variables. Moreover, we find that viewers exhibit more cynicism toward the electoral system and the news media at large. Despite these negative reactions, viewers of The Daily Show reported increased confidence in their ability to understand the complicated world of politics. Our findings are significant in the burgeoning field of research on the effects of "soft news" on the American public. Although research indicates that soft news contributes to democratic citizenship in America by reaching out to the inattentive public, our findings indicate that The Daily Show may have more detrimental effects, driving down support for political institutions and leaders among those already inclined toward nonparticipation.

I haven't read the whole piece yet, but I find their conclusions to be a little foolish -- their conception of how media work is particularly odd. And for full context, check out the lead author's pro-war and pro-authoritarianism site.