JOKE’S ON YOU! Political events like general elections are unique in that, although profoundly important, they tend to match that seriousness with a healthy dose of silliness. With the rise of meme culture adding fuel to the farcical fire, as well as certain orange-in-hue political figures being irrevocably ‘memeable,’ there is ample material to work with. This has caused comedic commentary to play an increasingly popular role in political coverage. Comedy Central’s The Daily Show is a prime example of this. A satirical news programme, it presents a range of analysis on current events and political issues. Hosted by a series of comedians, the show offers critical commentary on media, politics and society. During The Daily Show ’s coverage of the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Riedel’s Mediornet was deployed by East Shore Sound as support. The show faced some tight set-up times for its DNC coverage at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture in Chicago. The historic venue was built in 1911; as a result, it offered certain unique space considerations. “What really drove Comedy Central’s employment of Mediornet for The Daily Show was the modular flexibility of it,” states Bill Saltzer, president of East Shore Sound. With the introduction of Mediornet more than a decade ago, Riedel has led the distribution movement when it comes to approaching video infrastructures, by combining signal transport,
routing, processing and conversion in a redundant real-time network. “The whole production was driven by a router in an OB truck,” Saltzer continues. “The challenge is that it takes a lot of time to programme a production router and most OB trucks aren’t able to do that until they’re actually on site. With Mediornet, we were able to set it all up in our office – every node and router control panel.” CAST YOUR BALLOT The political coverage of the 21st century comes in an array of shapes and sizes. From snappy vertical video to visionary virtual studios with built-in XR tools to deliver engaging rolling coverage, the sheer scale of media tech on offer is staggering. As the super election year draws to a close, we are entering 2025 living the consequences of those major votes. The lines between celebrity and politician are becoming increasingly blurred, first with Trump and now with tech giant Elon Musk and Fox News host Pete Hegseth heading up two major governmental roles – we face some unprecedented times ahead. “Looking forward to future elections – and other large-scale news events – there’s an opportunity for even greater innovations that are still in their infancy,” concludes Klampferer. The role of media will be ever more critical for keeping the world truthfully informed throughout this turbulent political era.
FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST Riedel Mediornet is used by East Shore Sound to support coverage and data analysis on The Daily Show
THE ROLE OF MEDIA WILL BE EVER MORE CRITICAL FOR KEEPING THE WORLD TRUTHFULLY INFORMED
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