Survey: John Stewart gets salary nod

NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Between Comedy Central talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Stewart deserves a higher salary, respondents to a U.S. survey said.

Stewart hosts "The Daily Show" and Colbert does the same for "The Colbert Report." The satirists may both be on the same network, but there's little doubt a majority of workers polled in the "Getting Paid In America" survey think Stewart is more valuable, the survey's authors said Thursday.

Dan Maddux, executive director of the American Payroll Association, based in New York, said 26,000 people answered the survey, which asked a variety of questions and opinions about how they're paid. It's held in conjunction with National Payroll Week and participants are eligible for the grand prize of a free paycheck and trip to Las Vegas.

One question asked, "Which of Comedy Central's late-night talk show hosts deserve a higher salary?" The latest results showed Stewart with a commanding lead of 69 percent to 31 percent for Colbert.

"The contest between the two popular Comedy Central hosts is fun way to bring the educational message of (National Payroll Week) to a wider, more diverse audience." Maddux said.