Jon Stewart 'Crossfire' feud ignites Net frenzy

By Matt Hines
Posted on ZDNet News: Oct 19, 2004 6:48:00 PM

When comedian Jon Stewart blasted the hosts of CNN's "Crossfire" on the cable TV program, he ignited a frenzy of online activity.

On Friday night, the star of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" angered his "Crossfire" hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, saying they promote partisan political debate. The online transcript and video clips of the program immediately became an overnight sensation among Web surfers, bloggers and pundits alike.

As of midday Tuesday, online video hosting site iFilm said, more than 670,000 people had downloaded the CNN clip from its site. The clip runs for about 13 minutes.

The volume of downloads outpaced CNN's recent ratings numbers for the actual show, which has proved a hit for the network. "Crossfire" drew an average of 615,000 viewers per show during the month of September. But CNN said Friday's program attracted more than 867,000 viewers.

Links to the iFilm video and CNN.com's online transcript of the show have been posted to countless online bulletin boards and Web logs. Blogdex, a research project by the MIT Media Laboratory that tracks blog community activity, ranked the CNN.com transcript as the top online content being pointed to among bloggers on Monday. On Tuesday, the transcript was tied for the top spot on Blogdex's list.

The video clip also was a favorite among the peer-to-peer community. According to SuprNova.org, which tracks usage of the Bit Torrent file-sharing protocol, the segment is currently being offered for download by more than 1,100 different sources.

The rapid distribution of the clips and transcript illustrates the Web's growing political clout, according to at least one media expert. Jeff Jarvis, the creator of Entertainment Weekly magazine and current president of online creative firm Advance.net, said in his own blog that CNN may have missed the boat by not making the clips available for download to the general public. CNN also said a handfull of subscribers can access the clip online.

"What's fascinating about the Jon Stewart takedown of 'Crossfire' is not just what he said, but how his message got distributed," Jarvis wrote. "The really stupid thing is that CNN didn't do this themselves: 'Hey, we had a red-hot segment...you should watch; here, please, look at this free download because it will promote our (hosts) and our brand and our show and give us a little of that Stewart hip heat.' That's what CNN should have done. Instead, they'll charge you to deliver a videotape (what's that?) the next day."

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Bahl

A FEW YEARS AGO I BELIEVE BAHL- THE BROTHER OF SATAN TRIED TO DESTROY ME. I WAS WONDERING IF THIS CREATURE EXISTS AND IF SO PLEASE SEND ANY INFORMATION ON IT TO MY EMAIL Sagia22@austarnet.com.au
ALSO IF THE NAME/WORD SAGIA MEANS ANYTHING ASWELL. THANKS SO MUCH... (Read the rest)

Posted by: sagia Posted on: 12/12/05 You are currently: a Guest | Log in | Terms of Use

Delicious!  Jeff Spicoli | 10/19/04

Watched It......LOVED IT!!!!  itanalyst | 10/19/04

I caught a lot of that show and Jon ROCKED!  Laff | 10/19/04

Don't answer the question asked . . .  Roger Ramjet | 10/20/04

That's what they do, and they should be called on it  Laff | 10/20/04

calling them on it  eLurker | 10/20/04

That was not always the case....  Laff | 10/21/04

I loved it!  skeptic tank | 10/19/04

Jon Stewart "Crossfire" feud  thoodbhoy | 10/19/04

I Agree Completely  Maurerm | 10/19/04

they're spin doctors, not newsmen.  Johnny1013 | 10/19/04

Unfortunately..  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

That's a good one!  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

And Fox is any better?  Laff | 10/20/04

Never said that  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

You are cursing GOD? Which is what Allah is just a  Laff | 10/20/04

Very wrong  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

Ah so now we enter the spin zone of faith.  Laff | 10/20/04

Laff, I have to laugh  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

Ah Spoon old buddy I to enjoy our conversations.  Laff | 10/20/04

"IF" you can justify an order from GOD to put a child  Laff | 10/20/04

It was the TOWER OF BABEL, Spoon "genius"  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

HEY LAFF, you just need to put a temp. freeze on the 6th commandment!  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

Jeff I enjoy your posts many times, we do not agree  Laff | 10/20/04

Jeff many a Christian today believe that part of the  Laff | 10/20/04

You're right Jeff  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

Oh man don't attack buddah...talk about your  Laff | 10/20/04

Still wrong about one thing Spoon man..  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

Pretty good apples  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

fox  eLurker | 10/20/04

The news was once a sacred trust, and that was what  Laff | 10/21/04

cbs/nbc  eLurker | 10/20/04

What Planet Are You From ?  The Jetman | 10/20/04

But to be fair....There is a lot to try and figure out.  Laff | 10/20/04

How about Stewart's hypocrisy too ...  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

Sad, but true  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

HEY! I don't know about the other guy but STEWART  Laff | 10/20/04

news  eLurker | 10/20/04

And it should not be on a station that markets  Laff | 10/21/04

But hey..  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

Yeah, right....  The Jetman | 10/20/04

No hypocrisy involved, my friend  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

You missed my point ...  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

Well if you opiinon about many americans is true  Laff | 10/20/04

Good Point  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

Cleric jim/Laff, please do me a favor  beggenbe@... | 10/21/04

get a life....  avdp | 10/21/04

Sorry dude....I will try to do better.  Laff | 10/21/04

not laziness, but fatigue  endcorporaterule | 10/22/04

Re:No hypocrisy involved, my friend  henryb@... | 10/21/04

What about bias?  Spoon Jabber | 10/22/04

money bias  endcorporaterule | 10/22/04

You'd be shocked if you  skeptic tank | 10/20/04

Very good  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

What did you expect from Jon Stewart  Physco Dude | 10/20/04

I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word hypocrisy  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

Well aware of its meaning, thank you  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

still not hypocrisy dude  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

Sure it is  mso-chicago | 10/21/04

What ever happened to charm & wit?  rudemeisterman | 10/20/04

I love charm and wit (though I personaly lack both)  Laff | 10/20/04

They're all media tramps  FilledOut | 10/20/04

Good Post  mso-chicago | 10/20/04

Some points are being missed--so is maturity  Louisiana oilman | 10/20/04

So "Enough" where do you find the truth?  Laff | 10/20/04

OK pot  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

Spoon you should avoide things like Blather.  Laff | 10/20/04

Whew! Thanks!  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

Yeah..  Jeff Spicoli | 10/20/04

No, that is good!  Spoon Jabber | 10/20/04

OK..I've got one. Two Gay Bob's...Oral Roberts!  Laff | 10/21/04

Thank you  The Jetman | 10/20/04

Maybe but there is a differnece between being  Laff | 10/21/04

a high level view  jwa@... | 10/22/04

Bahl  sagia | 12/12/05

What do you think?

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