'Daily Show' Women Address Jezebel Really, Really Thoroughly
By Lindsay CutlerJuly 7th, 2010, 8:35 amComments (13)
It must be equal parts vindicating and embarrassing that every female staffer on TDS turned their attention to Jezebel, to tell them they were wrong. Look! They even got together for a photo-op to express how wrong Jezebel was.
A couple weeks ago the feminist blog ran a piece decrying the show's lack of female perspective, and how Olivia Munn is just too pretty.
Surprisingly, the women of TDS fired back. A clip:
If you think the only women who help create this show are a couple of female writers and correspondents, you're dismissing the vast majority of us. Actually, we make up 40% of the staff, and we're not all shoved into the party-planning department (although we do run that, and we throw some kick-ass parties). We are co-executive producers, supervising producers, senior producers, segment producers, coordinating field producers, associate producers, editors, writers, correspondents, talent coordinators, production coordinators, researchers, makeup artists, the entire accounting and audience departments, production assistants, crew members, and much more.
And because you want to know what it takes to get a joke on air:
When it comes to what makes it onto the show, competing ideas aren't just hashed out between the faces you see on camera or the names that roll under the "writers" credits. Jokes and concepts come from our studio department, our field department, our graphics department, our production department, our intern department, and our control room. Jon's rule is: the strongest idea and the funniest joke win every single time, no matter who pitches it--woman or man, executive producer or production assistant.
All in all, a measured and decent reply from the TDS women. They didn't have to respond to Jezebel (like, at all) and everything would have remained exactly the same; the world still turns and everyone is still sexist, including smart women who write ceaselessly about sexism. Sexism: you can accuse anyone of it, except The Daily Show.
Via Videogum
Commentarium (13 Comments)
The DS reply doesn't really address what Jezebel's original piece alleged entirely. While it seems that a large amount of women are on staff and, obviously, have a large impact on the show, they still are not the people who are given credit and pay as writers.
Oh snap! Jezebel just got served.
Well okay, but could we see them all naked in a calendar of some kind?
I'm not sure Jezebel DID just get served. That muckraking post might not have been the height of journalistic responsibility, and I can understand why the response was defensive, but Olivia Munn is so unfunny relative to the standards of the show -- and unfunny such a pandering, male-targeted way -- that them hiring her ahead of however many hundreds of more qualified women is highly suspect.
I think Olivia Munn was hired, and is still on the show, because she responded well to extensive testing of the Dailiy Show's desired demographic. She's funny enough to be a good ratings draw, or she'd be kicked to the curb. If her hiring was sexist, it's America's sexism, not the Daily Show's.
What bugs me most about this whole thing -- and a lot of things bug me -- is that there's a tone to the response that seems to say "Why didn't you ask anyone who works here about this, idiots?" despite the fact that Jezebel DID ask them and they refused to comment. I'm sure they have something in their contract that forbids them from doing so, but at least own up to the fact that an effort was made in good faith by the site to get everyone's side of the story.
I am outraged that a major online news organization as Jezebel would not have equal parts males on staff. I am also shocked, shocked that when a Jezebel writer emails all the females on staff for comments on a topic that is unflattering to their boss they decline comment. Because people usually always respond to mass emails.
"women are universally scarce in late night television...Conan O'Brien had none, Leno had none, "Colbert Report" had two out of 15 writers, and the "Late Show" had none (until they hired the amazingly funny Jill Goodwin)"
"A major online news organization as Jezebel...." LOL.
quit crying already, it's not stewart's obrien's leno's colbert's job to make sure female comedy writers are as funny as male comedy writers, or vice versa. if there's an imbalance in either direction, there's probably a reason.
@babies, of course there's a reason... but I highly doubt it's the one you're implying. I'd wager that it's a variety of societal pressures, not inherent lack of humor ability, that makes for a scarcity of female comedy writers.
Stewart, Colbert 2012!!!!
Super ifnomrtavie writing; keep it up.
Now you say something