Fresh Politics, New Media

Check out the answers to yesterday's NYT  quiz. Here's to more Oops! moments in 2012.

2011 is quickly coming to a close. As we head into 2012, it's fun to look back at the political events of the year. The New York Times  has a great graphical display of 2011's top moments . The chart is pasted below. For the answers check back with the NYT  tomorrow (or check the answers out when I post them here). Look for a return to regular blogging sometime in January 2012. Happy New Year to all. The Iowa Caucus is just around the corner ...

The New York Times  has a great little piece about the web site,  Newtgingrich.com , currently offered for sale by  American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic opposition research group.  Available for $1 million or less on Craigslist, the web site links to damaging content about Newt Gingrich including negative news stories, the Tiffany web site , and this video on global warming from 2006 with Nancy Pelosi. Didn't Netflix/Qwikster teach us about t he importance of securing Twitter handles , domain names, etc. before launching a campaign? Perhaps it's cause for Newt's campaign to do a little shopping? Just in time for the holidays ...

Saturday night's GOP debate offered some entertaining exchanges. The first was between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich (or Newt Romney) regarding the differences between the two candidates. The best zinger of the evening: when Gingrich suggests that Romney would have been a career politician if he had actually beaten Senator Ted Kennedy during the 1994 campaign in Massachusetts. Of course the media seems to think the key take-away from the debate is Romney's $10,000 bet wager with a non-betting Rick Perry. Jon Stewart offered his take on the debate exchanges during Monday's broadcast of The Daily Show . The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook As a testament to Stewart's popularity, ABC News  repeated part of the clip on their Tuesday evening broadcast. video platform video management video solutions video player Whether the race is really just between Newt and Romney...

Jason Zinoman offered an interesting critique of presidential caricatures on SNL in yesterday's NYTimes. According to Zinoman, Armisen has less to offer in his portrayal of Obama than Carvey did with Bush I or even Will Ferrell with Bush II. One reason for the critique of Armisen's portrayal -- Obama gives comedians less to "work with" than his predecessors. He just doesn't say that many funny things or have that many compelling gestures. Despite Armisen's less than hilarious version of Obama, Saturday Night Live still presents some very important political satire and is poised to play a pivotal role in the 2012 election. In 2008, Tina Fey's version of Sarah Palin grabbed more attention (especially virally) than the actual Vice Presidential debate. Interestingly, Zinoman mentions the importance of Saturday Night Live as a venue for politicians -- making appearances in an attempt to charm voters with some self-ridicule or self-directed humor. My own r...

The weekend began with Herman Cain's appearance on Friday's broadcast of the Late Show with David Letterman . Poor Herman Cain doesn't have any friends in Washington DC, but the voters are still interested in hearing more from Cain despite allegations of sexual harassment and his level of expertise on Libya. The full twenty-four minute appearance is embedded below: Saturday Night Live started this weekend's broadcast with a cold open from  Jason Sudeikis (in the form of Mitt Romney).   Unfortunately, even SNL 's version of fake Mitt Romney is dry and boring. Not even a leather jacket can help: Lastly, the real Governor Jon Hunstman made an appearance on SNL  during Weekend Update . There might be one too many New Hampshire jokes in this clip, but Huntsman's attempt at humor is admirable and certainly funnier than Perry's appearance on the  Late Show with David Letterman from earlier this month . This just under 3 minute clip offers some good free exp...

In today's New York Times , Michael Shear presents an interesting analysis of the recent gaffes made by GOP candidates including Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Michele Bachmann. The question is whether these gaffes - particularly with respect to foreign policy - weaken assessments of the Republican Party. After all, foreign policy and national security are supposed to be among their bread and butter issues. Whether these gaffes will have an impact on the GOP in this election or the long term is debatable. At the very least they do offer good fodder for late night comedians. Here's Jon Stewart's take from last evening's broadcast on Herman Cain's interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  regarding events in Libya. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook And here's a clip of the original interview put forward by the Journal Sentinel Is this simply the l...

For those who weren't in front of the TV last Saturday night -- or haven't managed to catch up on Hulu -- here's SNL 's version of the Perry "Oops" debate moment. Not a bad opening segment for a show that will increasingly insert itself into the political fray as the election gets closer.

Rick Perry appeared on David Letterman last night, reading the evening's Top Ten list. Last night's list - "Top Ten Rick Perry Excuses." The impromptu appearance was made in an attempt to minimize the damage from Perry's "Oops" moment during the GOP candidates debate. My recent  academic research on the differential impact of comedy forms suggests that viewers cool towards politicians when folks like Letterman, Colbert, and Stewart make fun of them using other-directed hostile humor. At the same time, voters can warm toward politicians like Perry, McCain, and others if they are willing to be in on the joke and engage in some healthy self-directed humor or self-ridicule. Of course, this also means that the self-directed humor has to be funny with the politician doing a good job in the impromptu role of comic. After watching Perry's appearance on Letterman from last night, I'm not so sure that this attempt at self-ridicule worked. After all, P...

It's been a fun week in political comedy. Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers had a lot of fun during their chat on The Colbert Report  this past Tuesday. I particularly like their discussion of political comedy and SNL's role in making fun of the mainstream media, especially since Colbert tries so hard to stay in character as a serious media personality. The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive Herman Cain had some fun with Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night. The purpose of his visit was to discuss the Sharon Bialek/Gloria Allred press conference. There's also Rick Perry's debate performance -- a brain freeze that has received more media attention than the actual issues or substance of the debate. Perry will appear on the Late Show with David Letterman  tonight   in an attempt to turn this whole debate flub into just a humorous campaign misstep. Cain will appear on Letterman next week -- November ...

Seems that Twitter is a useful forum for comedians these days -- especially as a testing and proving ground for jokes that don't make it past the cutting room floor. There was an  interesting article in Sunday's  NYTimes  about the ways in which late-night comedy writers and even the head writer for  The Onion , Seth Reiss, uses Twitter to keep the comic juices flowing. Seems the worlds of new media and comedy (and even political comedy to some extent) are coming together in an attempt to make us laugh. Check the article out and find out who to follow.

Conan O'Brien will officiate at the first same-sex marriage featured on late-night television .  Check it out tonight as Conan marries the show's costume designer  Scott Cronick to his partner David Gorshein. Of course the media had an instant reaction to the pending nuptials. Luckily Conan was able to turn their reaction into a fairly funny comic bit.  The wedding will also commemorate the one year anniversary of Conan's affiliation with TBS. Three cheers to Conan for being willing to "push the envelope."

Frank Bruni has an interesting column in today's New York Times . He talks about the relationship between race and support for same-sex marriage. More specifically, Bruni focuses on the African-American community chronicling their lack of support for same-sex marriage initiatives especially when compared against Hispanic and Caucasian voters. Bruni's piece is worth a read for a number of reasons, but it is his discussion of the upcoming Maryland case that piqued my interest. Public opinion research has documented the differences in support for same-sex marriage legislation in the state and the particular opposition the measure faces from African-American pastors and the religious community they represent. Given the state of affairs in Maryland and the state of national public opinion (at least when it comes to race and support for same-sex marriage), it should therefore come as no surprise that the Human Rights Campaign has enlisted Newark Mayor Cory Booker (video featured be...

There was a fun article in this Sunday's NYT  about Steve Berke a comedian running in the Miami Beach mayoral race.  Berke, age 30, is a Yale graduate who decided to run for office. His campaign has attracted serious attention even though he is less than serious himself and it's possible that he could do quite well against his main opponent, incumbent Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, the first Hispanic American female mayor of the city. At age 72, Bower insists this is the last time she'll be running for mayor. The issue is whether Berke (advised by Republican consultant Roger Stone) will actually prevent Bower from serving that last term. The NYT described Berke as A Jon Stewart era candidate: Call it a Jon Stewart-generation campaign by a candidate weaned on “The Daily Show” and hoping to use raw humor to reach new, disenfranchised voters through social media. On his campaign fliers, Mr. Berke poses with a fluffy housecat borrowed from a friend “because I don’t ...

Jon Huntsman, Republican GOP candidate and former US Ambassador to China appeared on The Colbert Report  earlier this week. During the course of the interview, Colbert called Huntsman a moderate. And if you examine his political positions, the truth is that Huntsman looks more like Obama than any of the other GOP candidates. With only 2% of Republican support according to recent polls, there's little chance that Huntsman will remain a presidential candidate for much longer. That said, a Huntsman candidacy really would make for an interesting and competitive general election cycle. Towards the end of the interview, Colbert asks Huntsman if he is ready for "The Colbert Bump." A real phenomenon, research has actually shown that appearing on Colbert's show can help congressional candidates with fundraising efforts. Of course, there's no real evidence that "The Colbert Bump," helps increase poll ratings. And it's doubtful that an appearance on The Co...

Frank Luntz, the Republican strategist who is responsible for the reframing of terms like the estate tax (death tax) and oil drilling (energy exploration) spent some more time with Stephen Colbert this week. The segment begins with some very entertaining conversation between Colbert and Luntz and the explanation of some key research techniques like focus groups and dial technology. In the end, Colbert persuades Luntz to turn up the dial: The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive The second segment on the broadcast actually features a focus group with average Americans. The bottom line -- Americans don't necessarily see corporations as people from the outset. After some time with Luntz however, some interesting slogans result, reframing the idea that corporations are in fact people. "Corporations Are Humans" sounds pretty convincing after all. What about "People Are Corporations?" Does or...

Aasif Mandvi, Daily Show correspondent offers a funny piece on the Republican war on science. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook The science fair kids in the video certainly seem a lot smarter than the GOP nominees featured in the beginning of the video or Noelle Nikpour, the Republican strategist. I'm putting my money on the kids and science.

This week marks the launch of a new advertising campaign by the American Newspaper Association. The message: Reading a newspaper is Sexy. Really? According to an article in today's New York Times : “Smart is the new sexy” reads the tagline for the campaign, which was created by the Martin Agency, part of the  Interpublic Group of Companies . “Be able to  find Iran on a map ,” says one ad that shows an illustration of a woman reading a print newspaper at a table. “Know what the city council is up to behind closed doors,” it continues." While I do think that understanding geography and being able to point out Iran and Egypt, Afghanistan, and Israel on a map is sexy, I'm not sure that there's a large enough target audience out there who agrees, especially with respect to newspapers.  Even if the new ANA ad campaign is aimed at encouraging both print and digital readership, I'm not sure the message will resonate. Perhaps I'm just too cynical? At this point...

The New York Times  presents an interesting analysis of the success of television comedies this fall. According to the article : " So far this season, sitcoms occupy seven of the top 10 spots among entertainment programs (not counting football) in the category of most financial importance to network executives — viewers ages 18 to 49" The report suggests that comedy has seen a resurgence in part given the sad state of the American economy and the reality that sitcoms are finally outshining reality and drama television. Both new shows like Fox's The New Girl  and staples like ABC's Modern Family are leading the ratings game. Looks like it's not just a good time for political comedy but for the sitcom as well.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been receiving more media attention as of late. For some, this focus is long overdue while for others these protestors occupying Zuccotti Park in New York City and similar locales across the country are receiving too much attention. Regardless of your view, it's clear that the Occupy Wall Street movement is starting to have a real influence on the media agenda and raises issues that will need to be carefully addressed by both political parties as we head closer to the general election season. In today's New York Times  alone, there were three articles about the protestors in the main news section. First, there was a comparison between those currently protesting and the Tea Party members who were out in force during the last election cycle. Further back in the news section, there was an article about tent libraries set-up for protestors in Boston and other cities. If you aren't fully convinced that the protesting groups represent two...

It seems that the media has already decided the race for the 2012 GOP Nomination has evolved into a head-to-head contest between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Yep, it's a battle to the finish for Romney and Pery despite Herman Cain's recent surge in popularity among voters in Florida and the reality that primary voters won't even start to head to the polls until January 2012. According to a recent article in the NY Times , the Perry vs. Romney showdown has been a long time in the making or has at least been a factor since the 2008 election. Both candidates did a good job of attacking each other in Tuesday's latest GOP Candidates debate -- the eighth of the season. To catch up on the debate highlights, check out this clip from the Wednesday broadcast of The Daily Show. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook

As a native of New Jersey, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of Chris Christie. Still I was intrigued by his potential late entry into the Presidential race as a contender for the 2012 GOP Nomination. Alas, Christie will not be running for President in 2012 , choosing instead to continue to focus on unfinished business in New Jersey. This announcement left many Republicans in the tri-state area disappointed and also meant that late-night comedians would have to abandon their "Christie fat jokes" in favor of new material. Christie, who is both aware of and sensitive about his weight problem, took the jokes in stride. In a press conference (the highlights of which are featured in this clip from Tuesday's episode of The Daily Show ), Christie suggested that he cares more about the comedy actually being funny than the repeated references to his larger-than-average physique. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor &...

Yesterday, The Onion , America's Finest News Source posted a serious of tweets and a satirical article  about members of Congress taking school children hostage in the US Capitol. The article also featured a doctored photo (see below) and a short video clip. While the story was obviously fake, the article and the tweets in particular have captured the attention of the mainstream media. For example, here's some   commentary from The Washington Post  and an article in today's New York Times . In addition, the Capitol Police is now investigating the situation and The Onion 's false reports of the attack.  The Onion 's reach on Twitter, (the satirical outlet had over 3 million followers as of August 2011 according to a report by Mashable ) may explain much of the attention. Especially when you compare The Onion 's Twitter followers to those of traditional print publications (from Mashable):  "That’s about 300,000 more than  Time , three ...

Emerging research by Cornell University sociologists (set to be published in the journal, Science ) tracks the mood of Twitter users over time. Analyzing a large corpus of tweets, the researchers found that patterns in mood follow a general rhythm across cultures and countries. The highlight of the study was published in an article in this week's  New York Times: "Drawing on messages posted by more than two million people in 84 countries, researchers discovered that the emotional tone of people’s messages followed a similar pattern not only through the day but also through the week and the changing seasons. The new analysis suggests that our moods are driven in part by a shared underlying biological rhythm that transcends culture and environment." The study offers a true analysis of mood patterns using text analysis -- a growing area of interdisciplinary research that has computer scientists, social scientists, and communication researchers working collaboratively ...

Jon Stewart started off the week with a review of last week's Google/Fox News Republican candidate debate. There's an irony not to miss here given that this clip is from a Google sponsored debate and Santorum is well known for his Google problem . So here's the clip for Rick #1 from the top of the show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook  and here's Rick #2 (aka Rick Squared): The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook For viewers who often think Stewart is left-leaning, his address to Republican base over at Camera 3 offers a sample of partisan commentary. In fact, recent research with colleagues Patricia Moy and Michael Xenos published in the volume,  The Stewart/Colbert Effect: Essays on the Real Impacts of Fake News , explores the connection between partisan identity (e....

Jon Stewart's mug graces the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone.  Highlights from the interview with Stewart are available on the Rolling Stone web site along with a fun gallery of behind the scenes photos .  For those who need even more Stewart, check out this video segment with Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates: Some highlights from the Rolling Stone interview: Stewart says that the Daily Show has a lot in common with Fox News. "We are both reactions to the news and to government," he says. "We're both expressions of dissatisfaction. Obama has been a disappointment to Stewart. "He ran on this idea that the system and the methodology are corrupt," he says. "It felt like the country was upset enough that he had the momentum needed to re-evaluate how business is done. Instead, when he got elected, he acted as though the system is so entrenched that it has to be managed rather than – I don't want to say decim...

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to this new ad for Rick Perry. The ad is certainly dramatic and chock full of startling imagery and movie-preview style music. I personally was waiting for a green preview screen at the end. The ad is 1 minute and 45 seconds long -- a departure from the 30 and 60 second ads that are standard campaign fare. In addition, the ad starts off as an attack against Obama and ends with a rousing endorsement of Rick Perry -- a clear attempt to attach a positive ad to the initial negative message. The juxtaposition suggests that voters must make a choice between the failed policies of the Obama administration and the promises and hope offered by a Perry presidency. While the design and elements of the ad are interesting in and of itself, the important thing about this ad and others will be their viral reach. This ad is clearly meant for television viewers in early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The true impact of the a...

Al Gore appeared on The Colbert Report  on Tuesday evening to promote his Climate Reality Project , a 24 hour reality special about the influence of climate change in each of the 24 time zones around the world. For those who want to check out the show on TV, it will be airing tonight. For those who don't get Current, it's also possible to stream the content online. During the interview, when chatting about Keith Olbermann and his new role as a program host on Current TV, Al Gore revealed that Stephen Colbert is actually "presenting a character" in his role as program host. For Colbert, who always strives to remain in character, the revelation offered an uncomfortable yet funny twist to the discussion of Current TV and Gore's recent work on climate change. You can watch the video of the interview below: The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive Research by fellow political communica...

Jon Stewart kicked off a new week of The Daily Show  with a strong start. Here's a very funny opening segment on the Obama jobs speech. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook My favorite part of the segment is the focus on the "awesome cutaways to uncomfortable Republicans." John McCain and Mitch McConnell do look pretty uncomfortable, right?

Yesterday's NYT  featured an interesting story about the changing face of late-night comedy and the race for the coveted Emmy award for the best variety, music, or comedy series. As noted in the article, Jimmy Fallon is the only network host/program nominated for the Emmy. The other nominations are for cable programs -- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , The Colbert Report , Conan's new show on TBS, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher . The article focuses on the importance of the nomination for Fallon and the reality that both Letterman and Leno are missing from the list of nominees.  In addition, the piece stresses the success of both Stewart and Colbert and their increasing rise in the ratings: The arrows continue to point up for him [Stewart]  and Mr. Colbert; their ratings were both up over the past year, and with an election looming — the richest of subjects for the most topical of hosts — the prospects are good for even more increases. To say nothing of pr...

In Thursday's New York Times , Nate Silver discusses two fundamental qualities voters look for when evaluating candidates in a presidential primary contest: (1) electability and (2) a candidate who will promote an agreeable (in this case conservative Republican) policy agenda. Often times, it's electability that matters most to primary voters (aka the party faithful) because they seek a candidate who can ultimately win in a general election. As Silver notes, Perry does well in promoting a conservative agenda but is lacking when it comes to perceptions of electability. Romney on the other hand may not appeal to the policy preferences of more conservative Republican voters but he does give off an air of electability when it comes time to think about the general election. The importance of electability was especially evident during the 2004 Democratic primary. In the early days of the primary I worked with a team of pollsters hired by a candidate who was promoting a very cred...

Last week, Dick Cheney made the rounds promoting his new book, In My Time: A Personal or Political Memoir . He made a brief appearance on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show, engaging in the art of self-ridicule with his brief appearance in a Darth Vader costume. Here's a brief video clip of costumed Cheney: As my own research has recently shown, politicians who are willing to engage with political comedy and practice the art of self-directed humor warm the attitudes of voters -- both voters who would normally support and oppose the particular politician or candidate. While Cheney is no longer running for elective office, it is possible that his appearances on programs like The Tonight Show and his willingness to act as a satirist engaged in the practice of political satire might actually encourage more positive feelings toward the former Vice President. Or perhaps he'll just sell some more copies of his memoirs.

Rick Perry, the conservative governor of Texas and contender for the GOP Presidential nomination likes to tout his record as a job creator. In his stump speeches across the country (or just in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina), he likes to emphasize that Texas led the country in job growth since 2009.  In fact Perry claims that 40% of all the jobs created in the US since 2009 were in Texas. Astonishing statistic, but according to a n analysis by Factcheck.org , Perry's claim is actually accurate.  The problem with Perry touting this 40% statistic is that given population growth in Texas and other factors the unemployment rate in Texas has actually increased since June 2009 even if it is still below the national average. According to factcheck.org: " In fact, if we look at the June 2009 starting point that Perry refers to, unemployment got worse in Texas – going from 7.7 percent in June 2009 to 8.4 percent in July 2011. The national rate, meanwhile, improved – dro...

There's a fun article in today's NYT  about  @ElBloombito , the 25 year old native New Yorker, Rachel Figueroa-Levin, who passed time during the storm tweeting about Mayor Bloomberg's attempts at communicating in Spanish. As the article in the NYT notes: "By Sunday morning, @ElBloombito had about 2,000 followers. By Tuesday afternoon, there were nearly 15,000, among them Mr. Bloomberg ( @MikeBloomberg )." Rachel Figueroa-Levin, more commonly known as  @Jewyorican  on Twitter  even exchanged some messages directly with Mayor Bloomberg's staff.  The whole @ElBloombito story and the burst of attention Figueroa-Levin received is a great example of how Twitter and social media can change the communication landscape and bring 15 minutes of fame (or more) for the average American citizen. Seems Twitter has the potential to make newsmakers out of us all.

My top 5 comedy picks for August are now online at Luke Broadwater's  Ridiculous Report , a blog for bthesite.com/ The Baltimore Sun . Here's the video for pick #1: The Daily Show - Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Candidate Tent Coverage Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook And here's the video for pick #2, a close second:  The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive Learn why I picked these clips and three others as the top political comedy of August 2011 by reading the full blog post, available  here .