Media Madness and Jon Stewart

Lately Jon Stewart has been on a steady trajectory from "occasionally annoying" to "downright adorable." He might be a liberal, but he dared to rip into pretentious Hollywood when he hosted the Oscars, and now he's ripping into the self-focused media.

As Comedy Central's "Daily Show" descends on Denver for four days of coverage, Jon Stewart took after the "established" media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.

In a breakfast with reporters, Stewart directed most of his ire at the 24-hour cable news networks, which he called "gerbil wheels" . . . He said the never-ending television news cycle creates a "false sense of urgency" and forces reporters to "follow the veins that have been mined," instead of pursuing serious and in-depth reporting.

I'm just thrilled. Plus, he's delightfully funny -- remember this?