A live internet stream and downloadable video files were offered for $4.95, with O'Reilly and Stewart donating half of the net profits to a number of charitable causes.

"[7] The Tampa Bay Times wrote of the event: "O'Reilly and Stewart attacked each other's arguments but not their personalities, armed with facts and a fair bit of passion.

They didn't replace traditional news sources or change many minds, but they did offer a blueprint for debate that can inform, entertain and push forward the bounds of public discussion at once.

"[8] At a post-debate press conference, Time noted that Stewart "resisted attempts to analyze the meaning and influence of the event" and that he had similarly maintained his 2010 "Rally to Restore Sanity" was purely for entertainment value.

[9] The Christian Science Monitor described The Rumble as "a giant promotion to attract more followers" to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central and The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News" with the potential to serve as infotainment that would raise civic engagement.