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Jon Stewart gives incisive analysis of the UK media's coverage of the general election

'The UK media has contracted a devastating case of CNN-itus'

Heather Saul
Wednesday 13 May 2015 10:46 BST
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Jon Stewart took his place behind the Daily Show desk in 1999
Jon Stewart took his place behind the Daily Show desk in 1999 (Getty Images)

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Jon Stewart has given an incisive analysis of the British media’s coverage of the general election.

In a segment for The Daily Show, the host broke-down how the UK media reported on the campaign, what caused the Labour party to lose and launched into a passionate defence of Ed Miliband and the infamous bacon sandwich incident.

However, the first piece of news Stewart felt compelled to break to the audience was that the Queen “doesn’t actually run the place – she’s just Corgi sitting for Britain”.

He then turned to the “unrealistically polite virtual parliament” he said “doubled as the worst Sims expansion pack ever”, the holograms and other virtual distractions used in the British media's coverage of the election.

All of this, he said, had led him to only one conclusion: “The UK media has contracted a devastating case of CNN-itus.

“It’s when a news organisation spends a great deal of time creating visuals and set pieces, which have no discernible purpose and shed no perceptible light and actually distract you from what it was they were trying to find out,” he explained.

Stewart also gave an alternative explanation for Miliband’s resounding defeat in the polls by playing a clip of the former Labour leader referring to a bearded member of the audience as a woman before releasing he was a man.

“So the Labour leader appears to be the love child of Joe Biden and David Brent. So what?” he asked.

Moving onto calls for Scottish independence and the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union, he summarised it as: "Slytherin leaving Hogwarts! Downstairs leaving upstairs! Downton leaving Abbey! Doctor leaving Who!"

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