The Daily Show - Correspondents, Contributors, and Staff

Correspondents, Contributors, and Staff

The show's correspondents have two principal roles: experts with satirical senior titles that Stewart interviews about certain issues, or hosts of field reporting segments which often involve humorous commentary and interviews relating to a current issue. The current team of correspondents collectively known as "The Best F#@king News Team Ever" includes Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, John Oliver, Aasif Mandvi, Wyatt Cenac, Al Madrigal, and Jessica Williams. Olivia Munn is also listed on The Daily Show website as a current correspondent, but has not appeared on the show since September 12, 2011. Contributors such as Lewis Black, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal, Larry Wilmore appear on a less frequent basis, often with their own unique recurring segment. Ben Karlin says that the on-air talent contribute in many ways to the material they perform, playing an integral role in the creation of their field pieces as well as being involved with their scripted studio segments, either taking part early on in the writing process or adding improvised material during the rehearsal.

The show has featured a number of well-known comedians throughout its run and is notable for boosting the careers of several of these. Scott Dikkers, editor-in-chief of The Onion, describes it as a key launching pad for comedic talent, saying that "I don't know if there's a better show you could put on your resume right now." Steve Carell, who was a correspondent between 1999 and 2005 before moving on to a movie career and starring television role in The Office, credits Stewart and The Daily Show with his success. In 2005, the show's longest-serving correspondent, Stephen Colbert, became the host of the spin-off Colbert Report, earning critical and popular acclaim. Ed Helms, a former correspondent from 2002 to 2006, also stars on NBC's The Office and was a main character in the 2009 hit The Hangover.

In June 2010, actress-comedian Olivia Munn began a tryout period on the show as a correspondent. Her credentials were questioned by Irin Carmon of the website Jezebel, who suggested that Munn was better known as a sex symbol than as a comedian. Carmon's column was denounced by Munn and the Daily Show's female writers, producers, and correspondents, 32 of whom posted a rebuttal on the show's website in which they asserted that the description of the Daily Show office given by the Jezebel piece was not accurate.

Behind the scenes, Adam Chodikoff has been credited with finding key television footage of sound bites.