Douthat on the News

Ross Douthat gave an interesting take on cable news in yesterday's New York Times. Like him, I became interested in the poor practice of cable news corporations when John Stewart gave the "Crossfire" guys some friendly fire. Not sure if I'm pitching my tent in Douthat's camp, but he certainly solidified the fact that CNN needs help, and Stewart isn't just making potty jokes, he's giving America the news:

What cable news needs, instead, is something more like what Stewart himself has been doing on “The Daily Show.” Instead of bringing in the strategists, consultants and professional outrage artists who predominate on other networks, he ushers conservative commentators into his studio for conversations that are lengthy, respectful and often riveting. Stewart’s series of debates on torture and interrogation policy, in particular — featuring John Yoo and Marc Thiessen, among others — have been more substantive than anything on Fox or MSNBC.