Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Journalism

August 8, 2016 11:28 AM - Season 3, Episode 20

This week....

• A recap of the Olympic opening ceremonies. Part 1 - Part 2 (both 4m)
• And Now: Newscasters Perv Out Over a Shirtless Olympian in National Dress
• Main Story: Journalists (19m), and the increasing difficulty that news outlets have staying in business while not compromising their work. With a special guest appearance by Tronc (MeFi)! Finishes with a trailer for "Stoplight," a depressingly realistic take on the plight of a reporter in the 21st century.

The Olympics: "A global display of the world's greatest athletes, and also, dressage. I don't care if you're fucking you horse, but you are not getting a medal for the foreplay."
Journalists: "The heroes that we root for in movies like All The President's Men, The Great Muppet Caper, and most recently, Spotlight."
Huffing Post: "Arianna Huffington's Blockquote Junction and Book Excerpt Clearinghouse."
Sam Zell: "A billionaire investor and living garden gnome."
Tronc: "Which sounds like the noise an ejaculating elephant makes, or, more appropriately, the sound of a stack of print newspapers being thrown into a dumptster."

F. 37: TRUMP, "Trumpus Slumpus," pictured Donald Trump

When Oliver says the Tribune company was rebranded "into something much, much stupider," look at his face: he's about to lose it.

posted by JHarris (8 comments total)

Brian Doyle-Murray!

Whoever does the casting on these movie trailer spoofs should get a raise.
posted by Gary at 1:50 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]

Better quality (official) link for the opening games segment
posted by Gary at 5:07 PM on August 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

Ah, thanks Gary! I always try to use official links when possible, but I missed this one, assuming that the primary segment link was the only one they put up (it usually is).
posted by JHarris at 5:12 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Sam Zell did so much harm.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:12 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

re: Sam Zell
posted by phunniemee at 9:33 AM on August 9, 2016 [3 favorites]

Man, that was a hard but important watch.

Also, fuck Sam Zell.
posted by mordax at 10:25 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

re: Sam Zell

See also, this little nugget of info located on his wiki page:

Zell is known for using "salty" language in the newsroom. In February 2008, the website LA Observed reprinted an internal memo that said:

Last week you may have encountered some colorful uses of the lexicon from Sam Zell that we are not used to hearing at the Times... But of course we still have the same expectations at the Times of what is correct in the workplace. It's not good judgment to use profane or hostile language and we can't tolerate that... In short, nothing changes; the fundamental rules of decorum and decency apply... Sam is a force of a nature; the rest of us are bound by the normal conventions of society.

posted by Fizz at 8:34 AM on August 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

the fundamental rules of decorum and decency apply

... as time goes by.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:06 AM on August 12, 2016