The Tightrope

It's official. Stewart and Colbert are back on with new shows as of 01/07/08. But there remains a great deal of speculation about what, exactly, they will be able to do on air. Both Stewart and Colbert are WGA members, which creates a very thin line to toe.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

"The 'Daily Show' the (sic) opening segment, in which Stewart riffs on the day's headlines with a set of scripted jokes, is unlikely to pass muster with the WGA. Guest interviews, on the other hand, are thought to be fair game."

In a previous post, I suggested that the WGA strike isn't ending anytime soon. I still suspect that the studios and writers are a long way off due to the sticking point of internet residuals. If Stewart and Colbert do return to the scripted portions of their shows (i.e. "Daily Show" correspondent reports and the infamous Colbert segment, "The Word") I have faith that they will do their best to draw attention to the strike in an ironic and incisive way.

For selfish reasons, I'm glad they're coming back. In the coming election year, there is too much at stake for the mainstream news media to dominate the information pipeline. Whatever happens, Stewart and Colbert will shake things up a bit, which is always a good thing. But they'll have to do so while walking a tightrope.

The good news is, they've been here before. Consider Stewart's performance on CNN's now defunct shout-fest, Crossfire, as well as Colbert's masterful delivery at the White House Correspondents Dinner.