Jon Stewart’s Coverage of Phone Hacking Banned in England

By using footage from the House of Commons for satirical purposes, “The Daily Show” violates British broadcasting rules

Viewers can see "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" in Somalia, Yemen and Syria, but those in England are not always so fortunate.

When Stewart aired a segment on News Corp.'s phone hacking scandal July 20, the episode was not allowed to be broadcast in England because it showed footage from within Parliament. British law does not permit such footage to be used on satirical programs.

So, Stewart reaired a clip from the episode and mocked the British for their rules. Not only was he complimentary of England, he said, but England's Channel 4 shows far worse programming "appropriate" for a family — gay orgies, autopsies and discussion of bowel movements.

If he hosted a show on a broadcast network, he "could have shown the same footage and said 'Tonight we have no confirmation that those members of Parliament are baby-eating goat fuckers, but we have not received or asked for denials of it either."

Here's the clip:

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