The Daily Show Television Program

Four presidential candidates are lined up to visit Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" over the next three weeks as Comedy Central's satirical news review ramps up its "Indecision 2008" coverage. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Delaware Democrat, is first up this Wednesday. Biden appeared on "The Daily Show" last winter on the day he announced his candidacy. Republican Sen. John McCain makes his 10th appearance on Aug. 16, followed by another Republican, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, on Aug.

Media giant Viacom Inc. is suing YouTube Inc., but it's also taking lessons from the online video service. In the ongoing quest to make Internet popularity pay, Viacom's Comedy Central channel today will unveil a website for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" that's designed to satisfy the most avid fans of the mock-news show with oceans of free video clips.

Stewart stays: Comedy Central has signed Jon Stewart to continue hosting "The Daily Show" through 2010.

When it comes to comedian Jon Stewart, Apple Computer Inc. is betting that one download won't be enough. On Wednesday, Apple's iTunes Music Store began offering downloads of Comedy Central's popular satiric newscast, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," and its comedic spinoff, "The Colbert Report." But instead of offering the shows a la carte, as it does with other new TV programs, Apple unveiled Multi-Pass -- a way to buy a month's worth of shows for $9.

Comedy Central is reaping some modest rewards from Jon Stewart's exposure as host of the Academy Awards. Viewership for "The Daily Show" averaged 1.6 million for the six episodes after Stewart's March 5 Oscar gig. The show had been averaging 1.5 million viewers each night before the awards, according to Nielsen Media Research. "He's sort of elevated," said Doug Herzog, Comedy Central president, "and by association we are as well."

Someone please stop Jon Stewart before he destroys American democracy. Two university professors have published a study claiming that Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" drives down support for political institutions and makes young people more cynical about government. " 'The Daily Show' makes a habit of ridiculing the electoral and political process as a whole," write Jody Baumgartner and Jonathan S. Morris in the May edition of American Politics Research.

Bolstering its continuing drive to organize writers in basic cable television, the Writers Guild of America, East, said it had reached an agreement with the producer of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" to represent the show's 14 writers. The agreement between the guild and Hello Doggie Inc. will provide the writers with union benefits and pay, including residual payments for additional runs beyond the show's first telecast, the union said. * Richard Verrier

Jon Stewart didn't take kindly to CNBC pundit Jim Cramer dismissing his Comedy Central program as a mere "variety show." "You make me sound like I'm some kind of buffoon, just flapping my arms with crazy buttons and wacky sound effects," the host of "The Daily Show" said Tuesday night. He then cut to a clip of Cramer on his CNBC show "Mad Money," punching buttons that make wacky sound effects. Ouch.

The "weeklong feud of the century" reached its climax Thursday night as Jon Stewart welcomed freshly minted nemesis Jim Cramer to "The Daily Show." Cramer, who hosts the CNBC show "Mad Money," had figured heavily in a "Daily Show" piece highlighting that network's poor track record on the financial apocalypse, an attack originally inspired by reporter Rick Santelli's diatribe against over-leveraged homeowners.

The verdict from critics Friday was quick and unsparing: Comedian Jon Stewart trounced CNBC pundit Jim Cramer in their televised encounter Thursday night. Forgoing his typically caustic humor, a serious and at times angry Stewart eviscerated Cramer for jocularly discussing how to manipulate the stock market and slammed CNBC as an ineffective watchdog of Wall Street.