“Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart to host Oscars

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sharp-tongued comic Jon Stewart,
who regularly skewers politicians and the media as anchor of
the satirical television newscast “The Daily Show,” was named
on Thursday as host of this year’s Academy Awards.

It will be the first stint for Stewart, 43, as emcee of the
Oscars — the film industry’s highest honors — and further
cements his transformation from a political humorist with a
cult TV following into a mainstream entertainer.

The Emmy-winning star of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
hosted the music industry’s Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002.

The choice of Stewart also marks a continuing attempt by
the Oscar-sponsoring Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences to draw a greater number of young viewers to the show,
which last year was hosted by comedian Chris Rock.

Sixty-five percent of Stewart’s nightly audience on cable
network Comedy Central consists of viewers aged 18 to 49, the
group most prized by TV advertisers.

His late-night TV following averages 1.4 million viewers,
which is unimpressive compared to prime-time shows on the major
networks, but Stewart’s show has become hugely influential in
politics and the pop culture.

Stewart, who announced his support for Democrat John Kerry
in 2004, has become especially popular among liberals for
regularly mocking U.S. President George W. Bush as a bungler
and the war in Iraq as a giant “Mess O’ Potamia.”

In a 2004 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People
and the Press, 21 percent of people aged 18 to 29 cited “The
Daily Show” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” as a regular source
of their political news.

‘IRREVERENT, FUNNY’

Gil Cates, who will produce the March 5 televised Oscar
ceremony, said Stewart was “the epitome of a perfect host —
smart, engaging, irreverent and funny.”

Cates denied selecting Stewart in order to give the awards
more of a political edge, despite the heavy political overtones
of several films seen as potential Oscar contenders this year,
including “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Syriana,” “Munich” and
“The Constant Gardner.”

Cates said Stewart’s experience as a stand-up comic and his
broad knowledge of current events and culture make him ideally
suited to handling unscripted moments that inevitably occur in
live televised events.

“As a performer, I’m truly honored to be hosting the show,”
Stewart said in a statement. “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.”

Crystal, a longtime favorite of Oscar audiences for his
deadpan delivery, smooth ad-libs and Hollywood send-ups, last
hosted the awards in 2004.

Rock, who hosted for the first time last year, drew younger
viewers to the telecast but his biting comments about a number
of stars in attendance annoyed some members of the academy.

Stewart joined the “Daily Show” as its host in 1999,
replacing Craig Kilborn, and the program has gone on to collect
seven Emmys, including the award for best TV variety or musical
series for the past three years. He also is executive producer
and a co-writer on the show.

The 78th annual Academy Awards will be presented in
Hollywood on March 5 by ABC. The show generally ranks as the
highest-rated U.S. entertainment telecast of the year. It
averaged 42.1 million viewers in the United States last year
and is seen by millions more around the globe.