Fresh Politics, New Media

I'm very excited for the Spring 2014 release of Mass Communication & Society's special symposium issue on Entertainment Media and Politics spearheaded by guest editor, R. Lance Holbert . It's really an honor to have my work included alongside the research of so many respected scholars of hybrid media including colleagues (and friends) Heather LaMarre , Kristen Landreville , and Danna Young . A table of contents for the special issue is pasted below. Happy spring reading! Volume 17, Number 3, 2014 • May-June Symposium—Entertainment Media and Politics Introduction R. Lance Holbert, Guest Editor Strike While the Iron is Hot: Seizing on Recent Advancements to Propel the Study of Political Entertainment Media Forward Articles Hoon Lee and Nojin Kwak The Affect Effect of Political Satire: Sarcastic Humor, Negative Emotions, and Political Participation Bruce W. Hardy, Jeffrey A. Gottfried, Kenneth M. Winneg, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson Stephen Colbert’s Civic Less...

Well the semester is FINALLY over and I'm happy to report that we had A LOT of fun in my new seminar, Popular Culture & Politics. While the 2012 election didn't provide quite as much entertainment as the 2008 Sarah Palin fest, we spent some quality time talking about SNL's new Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah), Mitt Romney style , and Stephen Colbert's Super PAC - Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow . We tried to keep up with the various viral videos and comedy appearances that popped up during the election cycle. Here are some highlights: Lena Dunham's First Time: This one's not political but it did help us talk about Saturday Night Live: Barack Obama's appearance on The Daily Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Barack Obama Pt. 1 www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook And last but not least, here's some more Lena Dunham: "You Don't...

Towson University has been posting "TU in 2 videos" for a couple of semesters now. In these short videos, Towson faculty give a mini-lecture on their area of research expertise. In my video I talk about why academics study political comedy and the finding that not all comedy forms are created equal. Hostile humor, or traditional satire in which a comedian like Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart pokes fun of a politician, results in viewers exhibiting more negative attitudes toward the comic target. Viewing self-directed humor, on the other hand, encourages viewers evaluate the politician more favorably. The lesson for politicians -- be able to both make and take a good joke. The full video is here: For more TU in 2 videos, check out some greats from Spring 2012 and Fall 2011

There was another debate this week, "The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium" between Bill O'Reilly of FOX News and Jon Stewart of Comedy Central fame. For those who had trouble streaming the event live after paying their $4.95, The Washington Post offers a synopsis and five key take-aways . They also made a pretty comprehensive list of the best one-liners from the rumble. For those who watched the event the next day (like me), #rumble2012 was more deliberative than combative and serious than funny. Both O'Reilly and Stewart offered their perspectives on the current state of the economy, foreign policy, and their own personal views on the role of entitlements and government involvement in everyday life. For those who weren't able to get that streaming working, Slate offers a good summary here . And you can still purchase and now download a copy of the event on the now less-trafficked Rumble 2012 web site .

Last week, I spoke with Washington Post journalist Paul Farhi about my research on the effects of political comedy programs and the freshman seminar on popular culture and politics that I'll be teaching at Towson University this fall. Farhi's article published in The Washington Post and reprinted on the web sites of a variety of regional papers ( Pittsburgh Post Gazette , Chicago Tribune, New Orleans Times Picayune to name just a few) quickly attracted attention. John Hudson offered his take on studying Colbert at the college and university level for The Atlantic Wire and Sophia McClennen offered a rebuttal over at the Huffington Post with student Remy M. Maisel. I too agree that John Hudson could use some help picking the right statistics to compare. He's welcome to enroll in my MCOM490 class: Mass Communication Research where we devote a few weeks to statistical principles. I'd also be happy to have Hudson visit my upcoming seminar. The full title...

Apologies for the lack of recent posts, but here's a really great political comedy clip. Check out Barack Obama slow jamming the news on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (from Tuesday's broadcast). The Barack Obama slow jam was followed by an interview with Jimmy Fallon. The interview focused a bit on politics but primarily allowed Obama to appear as the cooler candidate for President (at least when compared with Mitt Romney). Jon Stewart rehashed the Obama slow jam on last night's episode of The Daily Show. In fact, Obama's appearance has drawn a considerable amount of attention from traditional and new media outlets -- it serves as the latest political comedy moment. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Endless Suffrage 2012 - The End of the Beginning's Middle www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook The general consensus is that Obama did a  pretty good job ...

We've been hearing a lot more about Iran these days -- whether it's during the Republican presidential debates, in the wide range of  reporting on the speeches of Barack Obama and the 2012 GOP hopefuls at this year's AIPAC conference, or the coverage of Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Barack Obama. Even  The Daily Show weighed in this past Tuesday with a carefully constructed, graphically pleasing, and incredibly poignant discussion of the current controversy and the influence that the 2012 election season has had on the rhetoric surrounding the debate over what to do about Iran. I used to write a column for The Baltimore Sun  pointing out the best political comedy clips each month. I can honestly say that this clip would have made my list for March and perhaps for the entire winter season. Check it out for yourself: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook Stewart...

Stuck in an elevator? Sixty-three percent of young men surveyed said they would choose to be there with Jon Stewart (or some other favorite comic), and only 15 percent said they would prefer that time with Eli Manning (or some other idolized athlete). At least that's what The New York Times  is reporting today with a review of a new Comedy Central study about young men and humor.  Turns out that comedy and absurdity (not irony) is more important to young men, specifically Millennials, than previously thought.  While Millennials are watching less television that older counterparts -- preferring YouTube and brief Internet content to traditional television -- they're a ripe market for Comedy Central and their marketing partners. Ever wonder about those ads you're seeing during The Colbert Report  and The Daily Show ? 

My last post was about Mitt Romney's "oops" moment -- his statement on CNN that he does not care about the very poor . As it turns out, both comedians and the Democrats really did seize on the opportunity to chastise Romney over the remarks. Here's The Daily Show's take on the incident: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook The Obama team had a strong response -- particularly online with emails, advertising, and through the use of Twitter posts. As it turns out and according to an article in today's NY Times , they're on the lookout for Romney's gaffes, collecting more juicy content each time the candidate slips up. So, who will Mitt Romney choose not to care about next?

One of the best things about Jon Stewart taking over the Colbert Super PAC, now aptly dubbed The Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC , is that the two comedians get to push the legal boundaries of what it means to not coordinate. Here's just one example of non-coordination that aired on last night's episode 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 Seems as non-coordinated as Gingrich's call to the Super PAC supporting his candidacy -- Winning Our Future -- to correct any inaccuracies in the attack videos airing against Mitt Romney. The Colbert/Stewart effort also seems as non-coordinated as Mitt Romney's connections with those running Restore Our Future which has already spent $2.3 million dollars on ads in South Carolina . I don't know about you, but I'm eager to see some more non-coordination between Stewart and Colbe...

If you subscribe to emails from the  Colbert Super PAC  like I do or if you're just a frequent viewer of The Colbert Report  or even someone who spends time on social networking sites, you'll by now know that Stephen Colbert has turned over the leadership of his Super PAC (Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow) to Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show . Colbert is taking a step back from the Super PAC so that he can be considered as a candidate for president in the upcoming South Carolina primary on January 21st. Here's Stephen's take on his electability in South Carolina and his popularity as a Mitt-ternative. The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive Since candidates are technically not allowed to coordinate with super PACs, it makes sense that Stephen Colbert can't remain as the director of Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. Trevor Potter, Colbert's lawyer explained the p...

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...

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...

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.

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

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...

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...

While the media tends to pay greater attention to what presidential candidates say during the early days of primary campaigns, photojournalism and the images of the primary campaign are also particularly important for voters. Two interesting (and scary) photos emerged this week. The first was featured in The New York Times ' coverage of Texas Governor Rick Perry's Christian-themed prayer rally held in Houston over the weekend.  For more, check out this post on  The Caucus . Here's the photo: So much for the separation of church and state ... The second photo is on the cover of Newsweek  and displays a "deer in the headlights" image of candidate Michele Bachmann. Some critics in the media have suggested that the photo is unflattering and that the use of the word "rage" is problematic especially because it appears only on the cover, not in the article. Take a look for yourself. Without question, both candidates represent conservative political...