Comedy Central, the channel starring vulgar 3rd graders and crank calling puppets, isn’t the first name in news, but the Daily Show is the standard to measure the rest by.  Jon Stewart took over for Craig Kilborn in 1999, just in time for the 2000 election.  For the next eight years, the Daily Show provided the sharpest political and media commentary this side of Carlos Mencia.  Uber geek Jon Stewart became an icon for teens and college students, inspiring a generation to geek out over politics.

Only yesterday Comedy Central pulled all YouTube content of their shows. Now ads appear promoting the Daily Show’s posting of full episodes on the Comedy Central site. In fact, the ad says you no long have to collect pieces of each episode at “some crappy blog.” While I have little qualm with the crappy blog comment (I have work I probably should be doing), I find Comedy Central’s possessiveness of the Daily Show predictable yet misguided. While it is helpful to have one source with the full episode, this limits the viral quality of specific segments of the show. YouTube’s video software is more reliable and allows itself to be easily shared and posted on other websites, spreading the viral-ness. Comedy Central, however, wants people on their site with their content with their ads. This lessens my ability to share a particularly enjoyable Mark Foley segment, skipping the bland opening monologue. The viral sharing allows for a meritocracy of content (not necessarily high art, but footage that most people enjoy…most particularly groin hits). Blogs and YouTube are an expression of individualism. Media companies trying to govern them will only feel a backlash.

Check out Henry Jenkins’ book, the Convergence Culture, where he looks at fan involvement in Star Wars and Harry Potter. He also offers several solutions, many required on the media conglomerate’s side, to allow blogs and fans space to share and add content.

Avoiding controversy and court battles, YouTube is letting the various media conglomerates purge copyrighted material from its web site. This weekend, YouTube removed approximately 30,000 Comedy Central clips including the Daily Show and South Park.

I understand Comedy Central’s (and parent company Viacom’s) concern over copyright protection, but again the old media guard are failing to see the big picture. The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert all have bigger audiences online than on TV. The content created by these shows bleeds viral video and has, as a result, created a monster media influence out of a show with only 1 million television viewers. This is why logic minded Stewart has endorsed the online viewing of Daily Show content.

Comedy Central might be trying to capitalize on their online popularity, forcing people to their own Motherload site, filled with videos. This is an excellent step. But unfortunately, the internet is not about having content on your site. The web lives on linking and sharing content. YouTube’s strength not only comes from a centralized video library, but also with the ease it allows users to put those videos on their own website. Comedy Central’s Motherload offers a limited selection of their content and you’re forced to view it on their site alone.

I have already posted about video sites hosting full television episodes. I see major advertising and audience potential in this, but unfortunately the profitable business model fails media companies who prefer the reliability of DVD sales and syndication. But clips, even of fictional shows, satiate fans in between watching the shows. With more niche groups watching shows, especially cable, we need the ability to quickly share content in order to discuss it around the water cooler.