Fresh Politics, New Media

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 &