Hey Man - Pass that Acid [free Folder] Over!

What is it they say? Even bad press is good press? Earlier this week (on Wednesday evening), Jon Stewart of the Daily Show had a segment that he [ultimately] called, "Want Ads." In it, he discusses a recent job posting for the Grateful Dead archives at the University of California - Santa Cruz. The segment is funny, though Jon Stewart needs some help with pronouncing "archivist." It's a common error. It's ARC-hivist, not ar-KI-vist. He does take a shot or two at the advanced degree that most of us have, not clear on why we need more than a bachelor's degree (of course, there isn't a bachelor's degree in archives that I'm aware of).

The profession (and several of my colleagues) took some offense to Mr. Stewart's comments. OK, people. Let's lighten up. Jon Stewart is a comedian. He makes fun of things for a living. Let's look at it from the perspective that we had a good week and the profile of our profession has been raised. I say, thanks Jon Stewart.

Here's what several of my colleagues had to say on this:

• Derangement and Description
• L'Archivista
• Not a Guybrarian
• Beaver Archivist

I did send an email to Jon Hodgman (who I follow on Twitter), who frequently appears on the Daily Show to give him an opportunity to chide Stewart the next time he was on the show. I had no expectations that he would actually read the email, which read in part:

I know this is a longshot - but as you are someone I follow on Twitter and also appears regularly on the Daily Show, I though I would take a chance that you might actually read this.

You may have heard that on yesterday's Daily Show, Jon did a segment that he [ultimately] called "Want Ads." In the segment, he featured a current job posting for an archivist for the Grateful Dead papers at UC Santa Cruz.

While making sport of the idea of someone "with good organizational skills" and being a lover of the Grateful Dead was not a good combination in a job requirement, which was funny, he (in the eyes of some of my colleagues) continued to mock our profession by saying we need an advanced degree to do what it is that we do.

Stewart also needs some coaching on how to pronounce the title Archivist. It is frequently mispronounced "AR-KI-VIST", when the better (and more accepted pronunciation) is "AR-KIV-IST." The problem is common as archivists work in "AR-KI-VES."

The Twitterati and Facebook have also been alive with discussion about what to do with Jon Stewart. What can I say, we are an emotional bunch.

I thought you might like this opportunity to chide Jon Stewart for stirring the pot of controversy, although I personally found the segment funny and will continue to be a fan of the Daily Show.

Surprisingly, this morning, I received the following:

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

I am sure that JS meant no harm. But I think your points are valid.

I am not scheduled to be on the show until next month, so I doubt we'll have a chance to revisit it.

But I shall keep it in mind.

Many thanks indeed.

Jh

Watch for yourself and judge the humor. Now if Billy Joel needed an archivist . . . .

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Want Ads - Grateful Dead Archivist
www.thedailyshow.com
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