On occasion, Chad Cornett sits down in the evening to find outwhat's going on in the presidential elections. He's not watching adebate or "Meet the Press." He's waiting to see Jon Stewart'scomedic spin on the campaigns.
Cornet, a 19-year-old history major, is among the 21 percent ofpeople between the ages of 18 and 29 who said "Saturday Night Live"and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" coverage of "Indecision 2004"are regular sources for campaign news.
"The show is just a creative way to tell the news," Cornettsaid. "I know it's not the real news. I just like watching him makefun of the candidates."
This poll was released earlier this year by the Pew ResearchCenter for the People and the Press. The results also found that 23percent of the young people named ABC, CBS or NBC's nightly newsbroadcasts as a source.
These findings are a definite change from the results when thesame question was asked in 2000. Pew's earlier survey found only 9percent of young people watching the comedy shows and 39 percent tothe network news shows for coverage.
He said people should not be so uptight about how the news isportrayed because this might be the only "news" some peoplewatch.
"There is truth behind the humor," Gary Crawley, a politicalscience professor, said.
Crawley said such show are for pure entertainment and should notbe people's main source of information. He said the information isuseful if it prompts viewers to seek out relevant information. Hesaid these shows cater to young people and may appeal more to themthan traditional news sources.
In September, Jon Stewart appeared on Bill O'Reilly's "TheO'Reilly Factor" and was told his viewers were "stoned slackers"and "dopey kids."
During the appearance, O'Reilly asked Stewart, "You know what'sreally frightening? You actually have an influence on thispresidential election. That is scary, but it's true."
It may be scary, but this influence is not lost on thecandidates. Some recognize the importance of appealing to a youngeraudience. Before the primaries, John Edwards announced his decisionto run for president on "The Daily Show" and in September,Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry appeared on "The DailyShow."
This isn't a new trend. In 1992, Bill Clinton appeared onArsenio Hall's late-night talk show, he subsequently won the 1992and 1996 election.
The candidates go on the shows to reach an audience ofprospective voters that may not watch mainstream news, Phil Bremen,a telecommunications professor, said.
"It allows the candidates to be more likable and human," Bremensaid. "The environment tends to be friendlier with softerquestions."
He said some people vote for someone because they like him orher, people tend to trust someone they can relate to easily.
Whether candidates appear on the show doesn't make a differenceto 21-year-old BSU student Jade Frazier. Frazier, an accountingmajor said she doesn't base her voting on which televisions shows acandidate goes on.
"It doesn't make me think they're a better candidate," Fraziersaid. "I know they do it to get votes."
If more young people are watching political satire andcandidates are visible, the polls should be able to reflect theinfluence. According to the US Census, 42 million young voters ages18 to 30 represent 25 percent of the voting population. But onlyhalf of those young people were registered to vote in 2000. Moreyoung people may be registering, but if they will vote remains tobe seen.
"Registration is the price of admission," Bremen said. "It's atwo stage process of getting people to register and then persuadingthem to vote."
Frazier said she is registered and looks forward to voting inher first presidential election. She said she is going to votebased on which candidates' opinions are similar to hers.
Efforts are being made by celebrities to encourage voter turnoutamong young people. For instance, performer Sean "P. Diddy" Combscampaigning with the "Vote or Die" T-shirts, as a part of hisCitizen Change program that targets the youth vote. Celebrities arealso involved with MTV's "Choose or Lose 2004" campaign to get 20million 18- to 30-year-olds to vote in the presidentialelection.
Bremen said the number of voting young people has consistentlygone down since 1972. He said the number of dwindling young voterscan have a wide range of reasons.
"It means you're perfectly happy with how things are going,you're totally disgusted and think it's pointless or you just don'tbother," Bremen said.
He said he respects the people's efforts to get young voters,but would like them to educate the voters about the issues. He alsosaid voting without knowing the issues or candidates stance on atopic does not help the situation. He said MTV should attract youngpeople by stating why they should care about the candidatesviewpoint.
"The issues will take care of the vote," Crawley said. "If youngpeople perceive the issue as important to them, they willvote."
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