Events

“On the Media” features highlights from our panel on satirical news

If the court jester — who always seemed able to speak truth to the king — has a modern-day equivalent, it might be the creators of the satirical programs that regale us nightly with humorous, and often irreverent, takes on the day’s news.

It was with this in mind that Journalism + Design invited five writers and producers for “The Daily Show” and its progeny to join us for a discussion about real facts, fake news and the consciousness-raising potential of a well-crafted joke.

Our guests — Daniel Radosh and Dan Amira of “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” Sanya Dosani and Naureen Khan of “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” and Cord Jefferson, who just recently left “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore  — all got their start in journalism, and they spoke candidly about the parallels between their current and former gigs (salaries notwithstanding). We learned that writing comedic takes on the news doesn’t necessarily mean shying away from dark topics, and that fact-checking is as much of a virtue in the fake newsroom as it is in a real one.

Brooke Gladstone, who co-hosts WNYC’s “On the Media,” moderated the panel, and released a podcast with highlights from the 90-minute conversation. Listen to it below: