"The Daily Show" reports real news in a way that mocks traditional news broadcasts. "Where the fakery comes in is not in the news itself," said Rocca. "The correspondents are stand-ins for the media, and there is a lot of self-deprecation because we are making fun of the media."
According to Rocca, there are two types of pieces the show runs, in-studio and field shoots. The in-studio stories deal with up-to-date news, while the field stories feature obscure stories that the show treats seriously. "We end up covering stories in a way no one else would cover them," said Rocca. "For example, when we interviewed John McCain, we asked him a question from the millennium edition of Trivial Pursuit."
When the show does field pieces, the correspondents write their own questions, but Rocca noted that the best material comes from what happens spontaneously. "I prefer the field, it's more interesting to write your own stuff and have a part in deciding what the story will be," said Rocca.
Rocca showed various clips from his pieces on "The Daily Show," giving a short description of what each represented. He started with what he called a "character piece."
"This is where the person has such a peculiar obsession that we don't have to do much, we just guide them and try to impose structure," said Rocca. The man in the clip Rocca showed had seen the Broadway musical "Cats" 676 times in 17 years.
Rocca gave the example of a man who was angered that gays were being allowed to march in a St. Patrick's Day parade. "We got him to say things like, 'Of course Irish people aren't gay,'" said Rocca.
Rocca noted that sometimes people understand they might be made fun of, but they feel it's worth it to get their message out. "There was a man in Ohio who devoted his life to proving that George Washington was not the first president. It was funny, but he also got the message out and some people did email him to ask for more information," said Rocca.
Another "Daily Show" tactic is to take an innocuous event and increase the drama. Rocca went "undercover" at a cheerleading camp in Lake Okoboji, Iowa. "Cheerleading today has become an ultra-competitive blood sport … cheerleaders are pushed beyond their limits and risk catastrophic injury at every turn," reported Rocca in the film clip.
The next clips were examples of "The Daily Show's" treatment of politics. "Our favorite thing to do is ambush public officials … I think you can learn a lot from catching them off guard," said Rocca.
Rocca spoke of Sept. 11 as an example of the challenges the show faces. "What happened was so unspeakably horrible that it can't be funny … but turning our focus 8,000 miles away [to the war in Afghanistan] gave us an entry because it's easier to laugh at things that are more distanced," said Rocca. The show still tried to focus on making fun of the media's coverage of the events, highlighting the technical challenges of covering a war in an undeveloped country.
Rocca showed clips of a piece the show did on the adult film world as an example of material the show decided not to air because some members of the staff didn't feel comfortable with it. Responding to a question about how the show has changed over the years, Rocca said that more people than ever before know what the show is. "We're careful to not lie to get people to talk to us, but we do withhold information … we'll say we're a cable news show out of New York," he said. "We usually have to coach people to calm down, but younger people, like the cheerleading girls, are so media savvy, they knew they were not supposed to act like the camera was there."
Students enjoyed the insider's view they got from listening to Rocca. "Watching the porn awards that never aired, it was interesting to see where they draw the line," said Peter Weiss '05.
"I love the show … he's very intelligent and has a lot to say. I wish we had heard more about him and seen fewer clips," said Melissa Miller, a graduate student studying theater at UMass.