The Hunting Act 2004^[1]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision about hunting wild mammals with dogs; to prohibit hare coursing; and for connected purposes.
Statute book chapter	2004 c 37
Territorial extent	England and Wales[2]
Dates
Royal Assent	18 November 2004
Commencement	18 February 2005[3]
Status:
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs (particularly fox hunting, but also the hunting of deer, hares and mink and organised hare coursing) in England and Wales from 18 February 2005. The pursuit of foxes with hounds was banned in Scotland two years earlier under legislation of the devolved Scottish Parliament, while it remains legal in Northern Ireland.

Background[link]

Many earlier attempts had been made to ban hunting. Two private member's bills to ban, or restrict, hunting were introduced in 1949, but one was withdrawn and the other defeated on its second reading in the House of Commons.^[4] The Labour government appointed the Scott Henderson Inquiry^[5] to investigate all forms of hunting. Opponents of hunting claimed that the membership of the committee was chosen to produce a pro-hunting report.^[4] The inquiry reported its view that "Fox hunting makes a very important contribution to the control of foxes, and involves less cruelty than most other methods of controlling them. It should therefore be allowed to continue."^[6]

Twice, in 1969 and in 1975, the House of Commons passed legislation to ban hare coursing, but neither bill became law. Three further private member's bills were introduced by Kevin McNamara in 1992 (Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill), by Tony Banks in 1993 (Fox Hunting (Abolition) Bill), and by John McFall in 1995 (Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill)—all of which failed to go on to become law.^[7]

The Labour Party came to power in 1997 with a manifesto saying, "We will ensure greater protection for wildlife. We have advocated new measures to promote animal welfare, including a free vote in Parliament on whether hunting with hounds should be banned."^[8] A new private member's bill, introduced by Michael Foster MP, received a second reading with 411 MPs voting in support, but failed due to lack of parliamentary time.^[9] The Burns Report in 2000 concluded that forms of fox hunting "seriously compromise the welfare of the fox",^[10] but (in line with its remit) did not draw any conclusion on whether hunting should be banned or should continue. In a later debate in the House of Lords, the inquiry chairman, Lord Burns also stated that "Naturally, people ask whether we were implying that hunting is cruel... The short answer to that question is no. There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty. It is a complex area."^[11] Following the Burns inquiry, the Government introduced an 'options bill' which allowed each House of Parliament to choose between a ban, licensed hunting, and self-regulation. The House of Commons voted for a banning bill and the House of Lords for self-regulation. The 2001 general election was then called and the bill ran out of parliamentary time.^[12]

Following a series of evidence hearings in 2002,^[13] on 3 December 2002, DEFRA Minister of State for Rural Affairs Alun Michael introduced a bill which would have allowed some licensed hunting.^[14] The Commons passed an amendment proposed by Tony Banks to ban hunting entirely, but the bill was rejected by the House of Lords.^[15]

Royal Assent[link]

A bill identical to the one passed by the House of Commons in 2003 was reintroduced to the Commons on 9 September 2004. It received Royal Assent as the Hunting Act 2004 on 18 November 2004 when Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons, invoked the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, with the bill not having received the approval of the House of Lords who had preferred an Act that regulated hunting with dogs.^[16] The Parliament Acts are rarely invoked, the Hunting Act was only the seventh statute since 1911 enacted under their provisions.^[17]

The final passing of the legislation was considered very controversial with the unelected House of Lords criticised for being undemocratic block on the legislation ^[18] with other newspapers and broadcasters condemning Tony Blair's Labour administration for giving in to what they perceived as the prejudicial views of anti-hunting Labour backbenchers.^[19] MPs of all parties voting for the legislation asserted that hunting caused unnecessary suffering and said that they represented the majority of the public who favoured a ban on hunting with dogs. Their assertion of majority support for the thrust of the legislation seems to have some basis in evidence, a September 2002 survey commissioned by The Daily Telegraph indicated that a majority of people (57%) agreed with the statement that 'hunting with dogs is never acceptable'. ^[20] A survey by MORI for the BBC carried out in February 2005 found that there was a plurality (47% supporting, 26% opposed) of support for the new legislation, but not an absolute majority.^[21]. Subsequently, polling conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports in 2010 has shown 76% opposition to repealing the Hunting Act with only 18% support for repeal. This poll also showed 71% of rural residents wanted to see fox hunting remain illegal ^[22]

Challenges[link]

Attempts by pro-hunting groups (such as Jackson v Attorney General) to challenge the Act by questioning the legality of the Parliament Act 1949 in the High Court and Court of Appeal failed, and the ban took effect on 18 February 2005. The House of Lords agreed with the lower courts in a judgment delivered in October 2005.^[23]

A separate application for judicial review was made to the High Court of England and Wales, arguing that the anti-hunting legislation contravenes individual human or property rights protected in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and under European Community law, that is the free movement of goods and services.^[24] Some believed that there was a possibility that the challenges could obtain a degree of compensation for some of those adversely affected, although the Scottish courts did not reject the equivalent Scottish law, the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which also lacked any compensation provision.^[25] The application was successively dismissed by the High Court in July 2005,^[26] the Court of Appeal in June 2006^[27] and the House of Lords in November 2007.^[28] An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was ruled inadmissible.^[29]

The 2010 general election resulted in a coalition of the Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties. Under the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement, the government aims to give the House of Commons a free vote "to express its view" on repealing the Hunting Act 2004.^[30] In November, a number of MPs told the BBC that a vote is not planned before early 2012.^[31]

Enforcement[link]

Police forces have said, on a number of occasions, that enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004 like much wildlife crime is a low priority for them, although they say that they will enforce the law. However, the Police's UK National Wildlife Crime Unit has said that policing of hunting should be a priority for forces in some areas of the country, most notably the South West. ^[32] Animal welfare groups like the RSPCA, IFAW and the League Against Cruel Sports continue monitoring hunts that they believe may be breaking the law and, in some cases, taking private prosecutions themselves.^[33]

To the end of 2010 there have been 181 convictions under the Hunting Act 2004,^[34]but only six of those relate to registered hunts. 97% of convictions relate to poaching or other casual hunting activities, including at least seven people who have been convicted of hunting rats according to the Countryside Alliance. ^[35] Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said in a written answer to Parliament in June 2011 that "it is not possible to separately identify those specific cases proceeded against under the Hunting Act 2004 related to hunts recognised and regulated by the Council of Hunting Associations" since "statistical information available centrally does not include the circumstances of each case."^[36] The most recent successful prosecution of a registered hunt was in October 2011, against two members of the Fernie Hunt.^[37]Animal welfare groups have criticised this interpretation of the statistics.^[38]

In February 2009, following Exeter Crown Court's acquittal of Tony Wright, huntsman of the Exmoor Foxhounds, overturning his conviction in the Taunton Deane Magistrates' Court, the High Court dealt with a request by the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether defendants have a right to say they are "innocent until proved guilty" when claiming the defence of hunting under an exemption, and what is meant by "hunting". In its judgment, the court ruled that the burden of evidence in "exempt hunting" cases was on the prosecution to prove that the conditions of the exemption had not been met, and that searching for a mammal was not an offence. This confirmed the acquittal of Tony Wright. The court concluded that for the offence of "hunting a wild mammal" to take place there must be an identifiable mammal.^[39] Subsequently three pending prosecutions against hunts, including one brought privately by the League Against Cruel Sports, were dropped^[40] and a further two cases which did reach court were thrown out at the conclusion of the prosecution cases when the District Judges ruled that there was no case to answer.^[41]

Sentence[link]

A person guilty of an offence under this Act is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.^[42]

What the law stops: the exemption/loophole issue[link]

The meaning of the Hunting Act 2004 is a matter of substantial public dispute. The Countryside Alliance claim that the Act is unclear,^[43] while the League Against Cruel Sports argues the opposite.^[44] The difference between the two centres around the alternative views that the Act contains either "tightly drawn exemptions" or "glaring loopholes."

For example, letters from Countryside Alliance officials to a series of local newspapers around the UK in early 2006 say, "The Act makes it an offence to hunt a mouse with a dog but not a rat, you can legally hunt a rabbit but not a hare. You can flush a fox to guns with two dogs legally but if you use three it's an offence. You can flush a fox to a bird of prey with as many dogs as you like."^[45] The sections below examine whether such exemptions allow loopholes.

Hunting mice, rats, rabbits, and hares[link]

The Hunting Act 2004 bans activities that some members of Parliament disliked but permitted activities that were believed to be necessary for land managers. Parliament accepted the view that, where rats and rabbits were pests, hunting them was legitimate.^[46] MPs did not believe that there was any necessity to use dogs to hunt mice^[47].

These two exemptions do not make it possible for "traditional" hunting to continue. Rabbits tend to stay very close to their warrens and will go underground at the sight of dogs, thus not providing the chase that hunts need.^[48]

Flushing wild mammals to guns[link]

Traditionally, in some upland areas, foxes were flushed by packs of dogs to be shot.^[49] This activity is still permitted in Scotland under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.^[50] However MPs, in making law for England and Wales, decided that this activity did result in unnecessary suffering, not least because it is more difficult to control a large number of hounds in dense woodland where this activity used to take place.^[51]

This exemption was claimed by one stag hound packs in the Exmoor area. In an appeal judgment following the conviction of two stag hunt officials, the judge said that such hunting conducted primarily for recreation was illegal.^[52]

Flushing a fox to a bird of prey[link]

Many traditional hunts have bought birds of prey and say that they are using hounds to flush foxes so that the bird of prey can hunt them. The Act requires that the intention must be "for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal."^[53] Many experts, such as the Hawk Board, deny that any bird of prey can reasonably be used in the British countryside to kill a fox which has been flushed by (and is being chased by) a pack of hounds. If this view proves to be correct, then it is unlikely that such a use of dogs is lawful.^[54]

Expert opinion on the limitations of flushing foxes to birds of prey will be available to advise courts considering such cases, when they are litigated. For now, the question of what is lawful remains to be determined.

Hunting below ground[link]

Hunting below ground takes place with terriers. The Act outlaws hunting with terriers (also known as terrier work) with a narrowly drawn exemption, described by the Minister, Alun Michael MP as existing "for gamekeepers".^[55] The Act requires that any hunting below ground must comply with a number of conditions:

• The activity must be carried out "for the purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to gamebirds or wild birds which a person is keeping or preserving for the purpose of their being shot."
• The person using the dog must have with them written evidence that the land used belongs to them or that they have been given permission to use the land by the occupier. This permission must be shown immediately to a police officer on request.
• Only one dog may be used underground at any one time.
• Reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that:
  • the mammal is flushed as soon as found
  • the mammal is shot as soon as flushed,
  • the manner in which the dog is used complies with a code of practice, and the dog must be under sufficient control so as not to prevent this, and
  • the dog is not injured.^[53]

Despite this, many fox hunts continue to use terriers on a regular basis. Three people, not associated with hunts, have pleaded guilty to offences under the Hunting Act 2004 for hunting with terriers and a fourth was found guilty after a trial.^[56]

Harecoursing with muzzled dogs[link]

In a private prosecution under the Act brought by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) who had observed two hare coursing events in villages near Malton, North Yorkshire in March 2007 organised by the Yorkshire Greyhound Field Trialling Club, the District Judge in Scarborough magistrates court clarified that the club was mistaken in believing that because the dogs they had been using were muzzled, the practice was legal.^[57]

What the law does not cover[link]

The Hunting Act 2004 does not stop, and was not intended to stop, 'drag hunting' where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent, because no animal is chased.^[58] According to a High Court decision, hunting does "not include the mere searching for an unidentified wild mammal for the purpose of stalking or flushing it."^[39]

Section 15 - Commencement[link]

Section 15 provides that the Act came into force at the end of the period of three months that began on the date on which it was passed. The word "months" means calendar months.^[59] The day (that is to say, 18 November 2004) on which the Act was passed (that is to say, received royal assent) is included in the period of three months.^[60] This means that the Act came into force on 18 February 2005.

The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act[link]

The equivalent Act in Scotland similarly makes it illegal to chase or deliberately kill mammals with dogs. There are a number of differences between the two Acts:

• The Scottish Act does not place a two dog limit on the flushing of a mammal to guns in order to shoot it;
• With respect to flushing foxes above ground to guns to shoot them, only the Scottish Act permits this to be done to protect game birds;
• With respect to flushing foxes below ground to guns to shoot them, only the Scottish Act permits this to be done to protect livestock;
• The Scottish Act allows someone convicted to be sentenced for up to six months in prison, there is no such power in the Hunting Act 2004.^[50]

See also[link]

• Animal law
• Beagling

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Defra Q&A on the Hunting Act
• BBC In depth analysis
• Countryside Alliance 'Case for repeal'
• League Against Cruel Sports: How we got hunting banned

UK Legislation[link]

• Explanatory notes to the Hunting Act 2004.

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Jon Stewart
Stewart at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, October 30, 2010
Birth name	Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz
Born	(1962-11-28) November 28, 1962 (age 49) New York City, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1987–present
Genres	Satire/political satire/news satire, observational comedy
Subject(s)	Mass media/news media/media criticism, American politics, current events, religion, Jewish culture, race relations, human sexuality, self-deprecation
Influences	George Carlin,[1] Woody Allen,[2] Lenny Bruce,[3] David Letterman,[4] Steve Martin,[5] Richard Pryor[6]
Influenced	Stephen Colbert,[7] Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry
Spouse	Tracey McShane Stewart (2000— ; 2 children)
Notable works and roles	Host of The Daily Show Host of The Jon Stewart Show America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011 The Daily Show Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 The Daily Show
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album 2005 America (The Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction Best Spoken Word Album 2011 Earth (The Audiobook): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race

Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962)^[6] is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is widely known as host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program that airs on Comedy Central.

Stewart started as a stand-up comedian, but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host his own show on MTV, called The Jon Stewart Show, and then hosted another show on MTV called You Wrote It, You Watch It. He has also had several film roles as an actor. Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-executive-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, resulting in his sixteen Emmy Awards.

Stewart has gained acclaim as an acerbic, satirical critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular those of the US media networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC.^[8] Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "fake news" desk.^[9][10] Stewart agrees, saying that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. In spite of its self-professed entertainment mandate, The Daily Show has been nominated for news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, which was one of the best-selling books in the U.S. in 2004^[11] and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race released in 2010.

Early life[link]

Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz in New York City, to a Jewish family. He and his older brother, Larry, who is currently Chief Operating Officer of NYSE Euronext (parent company of the New York Stock Exchange),^[12] grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where they attended Lawrence High School.^[6] Jon's mother, Marian (née Laskin), is an educational consultant and teacher.^[13] His father, Donald, was a professor of physics at The College of New Jersey from 2001 through 2008; he now teaches an online course at Thomas Edison State College.^[14] Jon's parents were divorced when Stewart was eleven years old, and Stewart no longer has any contact with his father.^[6] According to Stewart, he was subjected to anti-Semitic bullying as a child.^[7] He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist."^[15]

Stewart graduated in 1984 from The College of William & Mary in Virginia, where he played on the soccer team and initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology.^[16][17] While at William & Mary, Stewart became a brother of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.^[18] After college, Stewart held numerous jobs; a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, a contract administrator for the City University of New York, a puppeteer for children with disabilities, a caterer, a busboy, a shelf stocker at Woolworth's, and a bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern, a local blue-collar bar.^[6][17][19] In college, Stewart was friends with future Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is the only politician to have received campaign donations from Stewart.^[20]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

With a reputation for being a funny man in school,^[6][17] Jon Stewart moved to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at the comedy club circuit, but he could not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year.^[21] He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End, where his comedic idol, Woody Allen, also began.^[2] He began using the stage name "Jon Stewart" by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name "Stuart" to "Stewart." He often jokes this is because people had difficulty with the pronunciation of Leibowitz or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to Lenny Bruce's joke on the same theme).^[22] He has implied that the name change was actually due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer has any contact.^[19]

Stewart became a regular at the Comedy Cellar, where he was the last performer every night. For two years, he would perform at 2 a.m. while developing his comedic style.^[23] In 1989 Stewart landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour. In 1991 he began co-hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater, with Patty Rosborough. In 1992 Stewart hosted the short-lived You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by the comedy troupe, The State. When David Letterman left NBC in 1993, Stewart was a finalist to replace him, but Conan O'Brien was hired instead.^[22]

[edit] The Jon Stewart Show

Later in 1993, Stewart developed The Jon Stewart Show, a talk show on MTV. The Jon Stewart Show was the first talk show on that network and was an instant hit, becoming the second-highest rated MTV show behind Beavis and Butt-head.^[24] In 1994 Paramount pulled the plug on The Arsenio Hall Show and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show. Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2 a.m. during its decline and Stewart's show inherited such early morning time slots in many cities. Ratings were dismal and the show was canceled in June 1995.

Amongst the fans of the show was David Letterman, who was the final guest of The Jon Stewart Show. Letterman signed Stewart with his production company, Worldwide Pants.^[25] Stewart then became a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, which was produced by Letterman and aired after Late Show on CBS. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently,^[26] but Stewart was instead offered the time slot after Snyder, which he turned down.^[27]

[edit] The Daily Show

In 1999 Stewart began hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show. The show, which has been popular and successful in cable television since Stewart became the host, blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians and many newsmakers as well as the news media itself. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor, Stewart denied the show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles." "The same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show," meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh.^[28]

Stewart has since hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, and Steve Carell subbed for him. Stewart has won a total of sixteen Emmys for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer.^[8] In 2005 The Daily Show and Jon Stewart received a Best Comedy Album Grammy Award for the audio book edition of America (The Book). In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the presidential elections relevant to those years, called "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", respectively.

Stewart interviewing Admiral Michael Mullen during a taping session of The Daily Show

The September 20, 2001, show,^[29] the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001, began with no introduction.^[30] Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in towards the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of the show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows:

"The view… from my apartment… was the World Trade Center… and now it's gone, and they attacked it. This symbol of American ingenuity, and strength, and labor, and imagination and commerce, and it is gone. But you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty. The view from the South of Manhattan is now the Statue of Liberty. You can't beat that."^[29]

On April 4, 2006, Stewart confronted US Senator John McCain about his decision to appear at Liberty University, an institution founded by Jerry Falwell, whom McCain had previously denounced as one of the "agents of intolerance."^[31][32] In the interchange, Stewart asked McCain, "You're not freaking out on us? Are you freaking out on us, because if you're freaking out and you're going into the crazy base [politics] world—are you going into crazy base world?" McCain replied, "I'm afraid so." The clip was played on CNN and created a surge of articles across the blogosphere.^[33][34]

In 2007 The Daily Show was involved in former correspondent Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008. In 2008 Stewart appeared on an episode of the show Democracy Now!^[35] A 2008 New York Times story questioned whether he was, in a phrase originally used to describe longtime network news anchor Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America".^[36]

On April 28, 2009, during a discussion on torture with Clifford May, Stewart expressed his opinion that former President Harry S. Truman was a war criminal for his use of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II.^[37][38][39]Moments later, Stewart defended his assertion:

Here's what I think of the atom bombs. I think if you dropped an atom bomb fifteen miles offshore and you said, "The next one's coming and hitting you," then I would think it's okay. To drop it on a city, and kill a hundred thousand people. Yeah. I think that's criminal.^[37]

On April 30, 2009, Stewart apologized on his program, and stated he did not believe Truman was a war criminal:^[40]

The other night we had on Cliff May. He was on, we were discussing torture, back and forth, very spirited discussion, very enjoyable. And I may have mentioned during the discussion we were having that Harry Truman was a war criminal. And right after saying it, I thought to myself that was dumb. And it was dumb. Stupid in fact. So I shouldn't have said that, and I did. So I say right now, no, I don't believe that to be the case. The atomic bomb, a very complicated decision in the context of a horrific war, and I walk that back because it was in my estimation a stupid thing to say. Which, by the way, as it was coming out of your mouth, you ever do that, where you're saying something, and as it's coming out you're like, "What the fuck, nyah?" And it just sat in there for a couple of days, just sitting going, "No, no, he wasn't, and you should really say that out loud on the show." So I am, right now, and, man, ew. Sorry.^[41]

In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013.^[42] Stewart is paid a reported $1.5 million for one season of The Daily Show.^[43] According to the Forbes list of Celebrities, he earns $14 million a year.^[44]

On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced a rally for October 30, known as the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It took place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and attracted an estimated 215,000 participants.^[45]

In December 2010 Stewart was credited by the White House and other media and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the ultimate passing of the bill which provides health benefits to first responders whose health has been adversely affected by their work at Ground Zero.^[46]

On the January 10, 2011 show, Stewart began with a monologue about the shootings in Tucson, AZ.^[47] Stewart said that he wished the "ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on television".^[48] Before commercial break, Stewart told viewers that the show would continue as usual the next night. After commercial break, the show featured a rerun of a field piece done by Jason Jones two years earlier.

As a result of such high-profile political stands, Stewart is being recognized as a political force rather than merely as a comedian. The New York Times suggested that he is "the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow"^[49] and the UK national newspaper The Independent called him the "satirist-in-chief".^[50]

In the middle of 2002, amid rumors that David Letterman was going to switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out, Stewart was rumored as Letterman's replacement on CBS.^[51] Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. On the March 9, 2002, episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Stewart, a "Weekend Update" sketch poked fun at the situation. In the middle of the sketch, "Weekend Update" anchor Jimmy Fallon said that he could not continue doing the broadcast and he brought Stewart in to replace him. Stewart glowed with excitement and chattered to himself about this chance to prove himself on network television. His pep talk went on too long, however, and before Stewart could deliver any headlines, Fallon returned and said he would be able to finish the broadcast himself.

In late 2002, ABC offered Stewart his own talk show to air after Nightline. Stewart's contract with The Daily Show was near expiring and he expressed strong interest. ABC, however, decided to give another Comedy Central figure, Jimmy Kimmel, the post-Nightline slot.^[52]

Books[link]

Stewart at the launch of his book, Earth, in New York, September 27, 2010.

In 1998, Stewart released his first book, Naked Pictures of Famous People, a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached The New York Times Best Seller List.

In 2004 Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a mock high school History textbook offering insights into the unique American system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and satirizing such popular American political precepts as "one man, one vote", "government by the people," and "every vote counts." The book sold millions of copies upon its 2004 release and ended the year as a top fifteen best-seller.^[11]

In 2005 Stewart provided the voice of President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation.

In 2007 Stewart voiced a role on Stephen Colbert's audiobook version of I Am America (And So Can You!). He plays Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and Communist.

On September 21, 2010, Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, written by Stewart and other writers of The Daily Show, was released.

Acting[link]

Although best known for his work on The Daily Show, Stewart has had roles in several films and television series.

His first film role was a minor part in The First Wives Club but his scene was deleted.^[53] In 1995 Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax.^[54] He played romantic leads in the films Playing by Heart and Wishful Thinking. He had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Since You've Been Gone and in the horror film The Faculty. Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they were never produced. Stewart has since maintained a relationship with Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and continues to appear in films they have produced including Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Doogal and the documentary Wordplay.

He appeared in Half Baked as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as Adam Sandler's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary The Aristocrats that to get the role he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile flop Death to Smoochy,^[55] in which he played a treacherous television executive, and the animated film Doogal,^[56] where he played a blue spring named Zeebad who shot a freeze ray from his mustache. In 2007 Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in Evan Almighty, which starred former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie Stewart was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an ark.

Stewart had a recurring role in The Larry Sanders Show, playing himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling). In 1998 Stewart hosted the television special, Elmopalooza, celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street. He has guest-starred on other sitcoms including The Nanny, Dr Katz, Professional Therapist, Spin City, NewsRadio, American Dad, and The Simpsons. He has made guest-appearances on the children's television series Between the Lions, Sesame Street and Jack's Big Music Show.

Producing[link]

In the mid-1990s Stewart launched his own production company, Busboy Productions. The name of the company is a reference to Stewart's previous job as a busboy. The company's production logo features the sound of a glass being knocked over followed by a voice whispering "Oops. Sorry." Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, but none of his ideas has been produced to date. After Stewart's success as host and producer of The Daily Show, he revived Busboy Productions with Daily Show producers Ben Karlin and Rich Korson. In 2002 Busboy planned to produce a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition.^[57]

In 2005 Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy in which Comedy Central would provide financial backing for the production company. Comedy Central has a first-look agreement on all projects, after which Busboy is free to shop them to other networks.^[58][59] The deal spawned the Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report. Other projects include the sitcom pilot Three Strikes, the documentary Sportsfan, the series Important Things with Demetri Martin, and the film The Donor.

In March 2010 Stewart announced that he had optioned rights to the story of journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days.^[60] On the June 6, 2011 episode of The Daily Show, Stewart again hosted Bahari and confirmed that the two would be collaborating on the project.^[61]

Awards show hosting[link]

Stewart has hosted the Grammy Awards twice, in 2001 and in 2002. In the middle of the 2001 broadcast, after laying a number of comedic duds, Stewart did what he encourages most public officials to do: he recognized his lackluster performance, saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to say I feel your scorn and accept it." When Stewart returned to host the next year, his comedy was more successful. Joking about the performance of the song "Lady Marmalade", he said, "Our next performance is from the movie Moulin Rouge!, a film about a time when the whorehouses were about the music!" When the award winners for Album of the Year walked up on stage, many in number, Stewart quipped, "I don't know what you may have heard, but you were only supposed to go on stage if you worked on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, not if you heard it."

On January 5, 2006, Stewart was officially announced as the host of the 78th Academy Awards, which were held March 5 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Responding to press questions at the time of his selection, Stewart remarked: "As a performer, I'm truly honored to be hosting the show. Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal."^[62] (According to The New York Times, Oscar producer Gilbert Cates knew that Crystal was going to be performing 700 Sundays during the time period and was not able to host.) On the Monday before the Oscars, Stewart told Larry King that he was more "excited" than nervous about the job and joked that if he turned out a failure, he could be "bumped down to public access". When asked what the opening would be, the comedian chastised himself by comparing a Stewart opening to a "Gene Rayburn homage". Instead, the opening segment, preceding Stewart's monologue, featured several recent hosts "declining" to host the show.

Critical response to Stewart's performance was mixed. Roger Ebert compared him favorably to legendary Oscar host Johnny Carson.^[63] Other reviewers were less positive; Tom Shales of The Washington Post said that Stewart hosted with “smug humorlessness.” James Poniewozik of Time said that Stewart was a bad host, but a great “anti-host” in that he poked fun at parts of the broadcast that deserved it, which lent him a degree of authenticity with the non-Hollywood audience.^[64] Stewart and correspondent John Oliver later poked fun at his lackluster reception on The Daily Show's coverage of the 79th Academy Awards by saying that the "demon of last year's Oscars had finally been exorcised."

Stewart also hosted the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008. Reception that time, however, was far more positive.

Criticism of journalists[link]

[edit] Crossfire appearance

In a televised exchange with then-CNN personality Tucker Carlson on Crossfire on October 15, 2004, Stewart criticized the state of television journalism and pleaded with the show's hosts to "stop hurting America," and referred to both Carlson and co-host Paul Begala as "partisan hacks."^[65] When posted on the internet, this exchange became widely viewed and was a topic of much media discussion.

Despite being on the program to comment on current events, Stewart immediately shifted the discussion toward the show itself, asserting that Crossfire had failed in its responsibility to inform and educate viewers about politics as a serious topic. Stewart stated that the show engaged in partisan hackery instead of honest debate, and said that the hosts' assertion that Crossfire is a debate show is like "saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition." Carlson responded by saying that Stewart criticizes news organizations for not holding public officials accountable, but when he interviewed John Kerry, Stewart asked a series of "softball" questions (Stewart has acknowledged he voted for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election).^[66] Stewart responded that he didn't realize "the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity."^[67] When Carlson continued to press Stewart on the Kerry issue, Stewart said, "You're on CNN! The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls! What is wrong with you?" In response to prods from Carlson, "Come on. Be funny," Stewart said, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." Later in the show when Carlson jibed, "I do think you're more fun on your show," Stewart retorted, "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."^[10] In response to Stewart's criticisms, Carlson said, "You need to teach at a journalism school," to which Stewart responded, "You need to go to one!"

Stewart discussed the incident on The Daily Show the following Monday:

We decided to go to this place, Crossfire, which is a nuanced public policy analysis show… named after the stray bullets that hit innocent bystanders in a gang fight. So I go to Crossfire and, let's face it, I was dehydrated, it's the Martin Lawrence defense… and I had always in the past mentioned to friends and people that I meet on the street that I think that show… um… blows. So I thought it was only the right thing to do to go say it to them personally on their program, but here's the thing about confronting someone with that on their show: They're there! Uncomfortable! And they were very mad, because apparently, when you invite someone on a show called Crossfire and you express an opinion, they don't care for that… I told them that I felt their show was hurting America and they came back at me pretty good, they said that I wasn't being funny. And I said to them, "I know that, but tomorrow I will go back to being funny, and your show will still blow."^[9][68]

In January 2005 CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellations, CNN/US' incoming president, Jonathan Klein, referenced Stewart's appearance on the show: "I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day."^[69] Soon after, Stewart quipped on The Daily Show that "I fought the law, and the law lost!"^{[citation needed]}

When asked about his relationship with Tucker Carlson on CNN's Larry King Live in February 2008, Stewart said: "It became this idea that it was personal between the two of us, and it wasn't… If there's one thing I regret about that thing, it was probably the idea that it was personal, that there was something I was saying about Tucker to Tucker, but actually it was about the show."

On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for The Daily Beast criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). Carlson discussed the CNN incident and claimed that Stewart remained backstage for at least "an hour" and "continued to lecture our staff", something Carlson described as "one of the weirdest things I have ever seen."^[70]

Criticism of CNBC[link]

Stewart again became a viral internet phenomenon following a March 4, 2009, The Daily Show sequence. CNBC cancelled Rick Santelli's scheduled appearance but Stewart still ran a short segment showing CNBC giving bad investment advice.^[71]

Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Jim Cramer, who had been featured heavily in the original segment, and Stewart, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on The Daily Show.^[72] The episode received much media attention and became the second most-viewed episode of The Daily Show, trailing only the 2009 Inauguration Day episode. It had 2.3 million total viewers, and the next day, the show's website saw its highest day of traffic in 2009.^[73] Although Cramer acknowledged on the show that some of Stewart's criticisms of CNBC were valid and that the network could "do better," he later said on The Today Show that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading."^[74]

Criticism of Fox News[link]

For years Stewart has accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a conservative agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world."^[75] In November 2009 Stewart called out Fox News for using some footage from a previous Tea Party rally during its report of a more recent one, making the later rally appear larger than it was. The show's anchor, Sean Hannity, apologized the following night.^[76] A month later, Stewart criticized Fox & Friends cohost Gretchen Carlson – a former Miss America and Stanford graduate – for claiming that she googled words such as "ignoramus" and "czar." Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw."^[77]

Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; as of April 24, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing Fox News' coverage.^[42] Bill O'Reilly, host of The O'Reilly Factor, countered that The Daily Show was a "key component of left-wing television" and that Stewart was a fan of Fox News because the network was so interesting to watch.^[42]

WGA strike of 2007–2008[link]

Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the Comedy Central writers. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed.^[78][79]

Stewart supported the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, commenting on The Daily Show episode just before the strike in a sarcastic manner about how Comedy Central had made available all of the episodes for free on their website, but without advertising, and said 'go support our advertisers'. The show went on hiatus when the strike began, as did other late night talk shows. Upon Stewart's return to the show on January 7, 2008, he refused to use the title The Daily Show, stating that "The Daily Show" was the show made with all of the people responsible for the broadcast, including his writers. During the strike, he referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008.^[80] Stewart, as well as several other late night talk shows, returned to TV early in January even though the strike was not over, because their stage crews and production teams were suffering much more than the writers from the financial crunch, and by that point had been out of work for two months.^{[citation needed]}

The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 was also responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a crossover/rivalry in order to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he mentioned Huckabee on his show, but also that he was responsible for Chuck Norris' success (Norris backed Huckabee). In response, Stewart claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, since Stewart had featured him on The Jon Stewart Show, and in turn the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with a mock brawl involving the three hosts.^[81]

Honors and awards[link]

Stewart in 2008

Stewart and other members of The Daily Show have received two Peabody Awards for "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", covering the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 presidential election, respectively.

The Daily Show received the Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Emmy Award in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series every year from 2003 to 2011.

Stewart won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2005 for his recording, America (The Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.

In the December 2003 New Year's edition of Newsweek, Stewart was named the "Who's Next?" person for 2004, with the magazine predicting that he would emerge as an absolute sensation in that year. (The magazine said they were right at the end of that year.)

Entertainment Weekly named Stewart as its "Entertainer of the Year" for 2004.

In 2004 Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William and Mary, and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.^[82] Stewart was also the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004,^[83] and the 2008 Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College.

Stewart was named one of the 2005 Time 100, an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by Time magazine.^[84]

Stewart and The Daily Show received the 2005 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.

Stewart was presented an Honorary All-America Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2006.^[85]

Asteroid 116939 Jonstewart, discovered April 15, 2004, is named in his honor.

On April 21, 2009, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made Stewart a chief.^[86]

On October 26, 2010, Stewart was named the Most Influential Man of 2010 by AskMen.com.^[87]

Personal life[link]

In 2000 Stewart married Tracey McShane, his girlfriend of four years. The couple met on a blind date set up by a production assistant on Stewart's film, Wishful Thinking.^{[5][88][89][90]} On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint name change application and legally changed both of their surnames to "Stewart."^[91] He proposed to his future wife through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of Will Shortz, the crossword editor at The New York Times.^[92][93] The couple had their first child, Nathan Thomas Stewart (named after Stewart's grandfather),^[6] in July 2004. Their second child, a daughter, Maggie Rose Stewart, was born in February 2006.^[94] They own a cat named Stanley and two pit bull terriers, Monkey and Shamsky (named after former Major League Baseball player Art Shamsky).^[7]

In 2000, when he was labeled a Democrat, Stewart generally agreed but described his political affiliation as "more socialist or independent" than Democratic.^[95]

Stewart is an avid fan of both the New York Giants and the New York Mets and occasionally brings this up on his show. He gave an impassioned rant to open his show on February 4, 2008, immediately after the Giants had defeated the Patriots in the Super Bowl, about the Giants victory, noting his satisfaction in having bragging rights over Patriot and Red Sox sports fans who worked with him and had tormented him for years.^[96] He has mentioned his fandom on his show during interviews with Tiki Barber and David Wright.^[97][98]

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Naked Pictures of Famous People (Rob Weisbach Books, 1998) ISBN 0-688-17162-1
• America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004) ISBN 0-446-53268-1
• Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Grand Central Publishing, 2010) ISBN 978-0-446-57922-3

References[link]