Fresh Politics, New Media

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

It's hard to believe that the third week of classes is almost over at Towson University. We've been having a lot of fun in my Towson Seminar ( Popular Culture and Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy ) and we've been reviewing some interesting video content In fact, I'm struck by how much material the 2012 campaign has already provided. We spent some time talking about Clint Eastwood's Invisible Chair debacle at the Republican National Convention -- what a great example of celebrity politics gone wrong! If you don't believe me, see for yourself: We've been giving equal treatment to the Democrats too -- a great gem from this past week was this New York Times article about Joe Biden's get together with a group of bikers in Ohio. The NYT journalist penning the piece, Sarah Wheaton, offers some spot on commentary regarding the picture featured in the article. Even she can't believe it's not ripped from the pages of The Oni...

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...

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's been a busy summer. I've spent a lot of time preparing for my upcoming Towson Seminar -- Popular Culture and Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy. I'm excited to bring my research interests into the classroom. As I discuss in a recent article in The Washington Post , academic interest in studying political comedy and Stephen Colbert in particular is growing at a rapid pace. In preparing for the seminar, I'm revisiting some political comedy "gems" from the 2008 election. Here's my favorite piece: Tina Fey actually offers a great summary of the clip and its significance in Bossypants . Stay tuned for more political comedy gems as course prep continues.