Fresh Politics, New Media

Ever wonder about the impact of those political parody videos you were watching during the 2012 Election cycle? While you might have found it funny to see Barack Obama or Mitt Romney made fun of, were others finding these things funny as well? Was anybody else watching? A new article I just published in Human Communication Research addresses these questions and more by applying the disposition theory of humor to the study of both political parody appreciation and the effects of humor exposure. First, a little background: The Pew Research Center reports that 55% of all registered voters went online during the 2012 Election cycle to watch political video . 37% watched humorous or parody videos dealing with political issues. So yes, you weren't the only one watching those YouTube clips. The research featured in the HCR article is based on an experimental study that asked subjects to watch one of three sets of videos: a set that featured Democratic-directed humor, one set that inc...

There's a great article in today's New York Times about the influence of SNL during a competitive election season. As we've been learning in my TSEM class(Popular Culture and Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy) this semester, journalists and the public alike look to the cast of SNL to offer their parody version of each general election debate. Parody is a reinterpretation of an original text -- a mockery that is easier to understand if you're familiar with the original event or script. According to the SNL writing team, this past Wednesday's debate failed to offer genuine comic inspiration. From the NYT article: "But the debate itself turned out to be a challenge. There were no big gaffes or obvious springboards for comedy. Instead, the first debate of this election offered up a blizzard of policy details and a lackluster performance from President Obama. At home Wednesday night, Seth Meyers, one of the show’s head writers, watch...

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?

With his victory in Florida, Mitt Romney seems to be the presumptive GOP nominee. Luckily for us, but not for Mitt Romney, he's the type of candidate who keeps entertaining with his many gaffes. Does he think he's running against Joe Biden, not Barack Obama? In any event, Mitt Romney's latest oops moment is that he doesn't care about the very poor. Here's the original commentary so you can see for yourself. The New York Times  covered the reaction to the gaffe in an article this morning. In a thoughtful piece, Gail Collins dissects Romney's commentary . While the reaction to Romney's original comments may have been a bit overblown, the substance of what he did say is not good for a candidate who is already perceived as out-of-touch with the experience of average Americans. As a scholar of political comedy and culture, Romney's latest gaffe is noteworthy -- as is the media's reaction. Just how awkward are these comments? How much will they...

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...

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...

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