Political satire in news shows: A study of “The Daily Show” and “Joe Show”

Media News are constantly adapting to the evolving landscape of the world’s affairs, developing to several forms of news presentation, and attracting the attention of the globe. Notably, satirical news shows have gained fame for their potential to engage viewers through humour, representing local and global amusing TV programs governed by their socio-political contexts. Evidently, satirical news shows as “The Daily Show” hosted by Trevor Noah in the USA and the Egyptian “Joe Show” hosted by Youssef Hussein, serve as prime examples of this genre. They effectively elevate political satire to a new level, appealing to audiences from different backgrounds and cultures through their discourses. Hence, the current project undertakes a comparative analysis of the aforementioned political satire shows, exploring the establishment of satire and discursive boundaries within these distinct shows. To accomplish its aim, the study includes Fairclough's (1989) 3D model of Critical Discourse Analysis, in combination with Conversation Analysis and Bakhtin’s Carnivalesque theory. Four episodes, two from each show, are selected. Despite sharing similarities in format, genre, roles, themes and sharing certain elements of interdiscursivity, both programs use different types and approaches to satire, reflecting varying levels of humour and critique. Whereas Trevor Noah implements Juvenalian satire, containing sharp wit, especially when criticising and parodying the Former President Donald Trump with occasional use of informal and emotive language, Youssef Hussein assume a Horatian satire, considering cultural and global sensitives when comparing and mocking both American and Egyptian political systems. Both shows utilize a range of linguistic, paralinguistic, multimodal, and satirical techniques in addition to carnivalesque elements like grotesque realism, ambivalence, and dialogic engagement to subvert political authority, and balance humour with social critique, offering a space for reflection on power dynamics within contemporary media. They attack political leaders, scrutinize democracy, and mock pro-regime media, playing multifaceted roles as educators, entertainers, and evaluators. The sociocultural context of these shows is evident in the choice of satirical devices, the selected themes around their contexts and their cultural expressions.