Cliché sitcom jokes that really piss you off Page 6

My favourite satire on the papers was in Yes Minister.

Hacker: The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by people who actually do run the country; The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; The Financial Times is read by people who own the country; The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is.

Sir Humphrey: Yes, Prime Minister, but what about the people who read the Sun?

Bernard: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits.

Quote: Aaron @ December 30 2008, 2:32 PM GMT

It's no worse than sensationalist nonsense in any other paper.

And no matter how much it may or may not deserve it, the whole anti-DM spiel is old, boring, unimaginative, and IMO the sign of a comedian (or writer) struggling for any idea at all.

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Old cliched? Maybe.

But very true and neccessary, that hateful rag peddles ridiculous cancer cures, paranoia and moral panic.

I fear a paper that forced the censorship of the nations broadcaster.

Pretending the Daily Mail is just another newspaper is dangerous stuff.

The worst paper is The Express, how the hell do they find 364 Princess Diana stories a year?

Quote: Ian Wolf @ December 30 2008, 3:57 PM GMT

My favourite satire on the papers was in Yes Minister.

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It was funny (apart from the fact that I still have not opened half of the papers mentioned) but I read somewhere this joke had been *ahem* borrowed from another comedian and slightly changed.

Also surely the people who run the country now read The Guardian?

Well more likely, Noddy f**ks up the economy.

The Express is pretty unpleasant, especially the grating add campaign.

The Daily Mail is actually pretty imoral.

And some of it's stuff on social work and autism down right wicked.

Everyone should just read The Sport.

The Sport. 9 out of 10 tramps wouldn't wank over anything less.

And 9 out of 10 tramps wouldn't appear in anything less.

Quote: sootyj @ December 30 2008, 4:14 PM GMT

Old cliched? Maybe.

But very true and neccessary, that hateful rag peddles ridiculous cancer cures, paranoia and moral panic.

I fear a paper that forced the censorship of the nations broadcaster.

Pretending the Daily Mail is just another newspaper is dangerous stuff.

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It's also true that black people commit a disproportionate amount of crime. (Well, according to 'official figures'.)

I don't see things like that being bleated on about non stop.

The Mail jokes, true or not, are terrible, tired clichés which weren't funny the first time they were rattled out. It's just damn laziness.

Marcus Brigstocke, I'mma lookin' at you.

Quote: Aaron @ December 30 2008, 6:48 PM GMT

It's also true that black people commit a disproportionate amount of crime. (Well, according to 'official figures'.)

I don't see things like that being bleated on about non stop.

The Mail jokes, true or not, are terrible, tired clichés which weren't funny the first time they were rattled out. It's just damn laziness.

Marcus Brigstocke, I'mma lookin' at you.

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I read an interview with Brigstocke in "The Guardian" media section about what newspapers he read (the answer being all of them, seeing as how he is a satirist), and he said in his interview that: "To write material, though, I get the Daily Mail; it writes itself." The interview can be read here.

As a media student (or rather one that has finished the course and plans to do a journalism masters degree because there are no jobs at the moment), I think the best thing to do is to get rid of all national newspapers. The internet provides us with all the news we could ever need and updates instantly, whereas a paper only comes out once a day. Newspapers will probably be phrased out once internet advertising becomes profitable for the publishers.

One problem with mocking the "Daily Mail" is my personal theory that it is much easier to mock right-wing things than left-wing things. Hence why "The Great Dictator" is one of Chaplin's greatest films, but I am unaware of a great comedy film about Stalin. As far as the papers are concerned, it is easy to take the piss of the "Daily Mail", the "Daily Express" or FOX News, because the right-wing bias is so clear and blatant. However, as far as mocking the left-wing press is concerned, this is limited to spelling errors in "The Guardian" and mocking the front page of "The Independent".

Plus there's the "boy who cried wolf" thing going on. Mock it non-stop and when something really big happens, you've devalued all effect your criticism may have on it.

Quote: Aaron @ December 30 2008, 7:18 PM GMT

Plus there's the "boy who cried wolf" thing going on. Mock it non-stop and when something really big happens, you've devalued all effect your criticism may have on it.

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Hence why I loathe "John Prescott fat gags". If Prescott does something which is good, everyone would just think, "Oh no, not that fat grumpy bastard." This is why there are many academics who think that satire damages democracy. It can damage it if it is done wrongly, but done correctly it can be a powerful and good tool.

Quote: Griff @ December 30 2008, 7:15 PM GMT

I'm with Aaron on the Daily Mail discussion. Sooty's argument that it is morally necessary to mock the Mail is missing the point. I don't go to comedy for moral instruction. Mocking the Mail repetitively and incessantly is dull, dull, dull and, I agree, the sign of a comic without any fresh ideas.

What the nation needs is constant mocking of Steve Wright In The Afternoon.

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The Daily Mail is like a vast clinical waste sack stuck full of infected needles, amputated limbs and hepatitis.

There's always new and foul and rotten to be dragged, festering and stinking into the cold light of day.

To tire of mocking the Daily Mail is to tire of life.

Or be a nazi.

Or gay.

Or both.

Oh I do pick on the Sun, but it's funny and it's got boobs in it.

Plus they featured some of my jokes.

And I'm a stinking hypocrite.

I do have a go at the Guardian, but that's akin to dropping bombs on Belgium.

Cruel and pointless no one notices.

Actually I also read Richard Littlejohn's articles on line.

Do you know how dirty that last sentence made me feel?

Sootyj: My view is that we should not only mock the Daily Mail, but we should mock every other media outlet with just as much scorn and distrust. Right-wing neo-cons are awful, but new age lefties, animal rights extremists and namby pamby liberals can be just as bad.

To quote the words of Armando Iannucci, "We're all twats."