2008 Woodie Awards
Political media
A view from another campus
OSU Daily Barometer
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Viewpoint
Fans of the show "The Colbert Report" know Stephen Colbert to be an entertaining character that, at times, makes outrageous statements about the state of the world. Most of the time these statements are left for discussion by students at class, people at their offices and maybe even a gossip Web site or two. However, when Colbert announced on Oct. 16 that he was running as the presidential candidate for the state of South Carolina, it became real world news. The Associated Press picked up on the story, as did many major news sources.
Events like these bring a great amount of media attention that is often surprising. Colbert, on his half-hour show, is in fact playing a character. The cult following of the show and support for Colbert has led to many media outlets reacting to the news. The gossip Web site gawker.com posted the clip from "NBC Nightly News" with Colbert being interviewed as his character.
Facebook, of course, has responded as well. A group called "1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T. Colbert" has managed to become the fastest growing Facebook group to reach 500,000 members. The group compares to Facebook groups also striving to get 1,000,000 members, one in favor of Barack Obama, and the other against Hillary Clinton. In addition to this popular group, a search of Colbert's name yields more than 500 groups with too many to count that are dedicated to Colbert running for president.
While this gimmick, entertainment, or whatever people may call it, does seem outrageous, we can thank Colbert for at least bringing his younger audience into the dialogue of politics. It is a bit of a relief that mainstream entertainment news is not about Britney Spears losing her children, going to court or doing something ridiculous. Even the death of Anna Nicole Smith gained an absurd amount of primetime and nationwide news coverage before the inevitable backlash against the news overload.
While many people watch Colbert's show and mainly enjoy the humorous fodder, even more may become impressed enough to learn more about campaigns and read the news more often. Part of the draw of shows like "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show" is understanding the news presented or the world leaders that they discuss.
As the focus becomes the younger generation getting the vote out, interest groups, celebrities and concerned citizens look for an effective venue to capture the short attention span of young voters.
However if this campaign of Colbert's plays out, it is a great outlet for students and young voters to view and learn about news in a favorable media.
Events like these bring a great amount of media attention that is often surprising. Colbert, on his half-hour show, is in fact playing a character. The cult following of the show and support for Colbert has led to many media outlets reacting to the news. The gossip Web site gawker.com posted the clip from "NBC Nightly News" with Colbert being interviewed as his character.
Facebook, of course, has responded as well. A group called "1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T. Colbert" has managed to become the fastest growing Facebook group to reach 500,000 members. The group compares to Facebook groups also striving to get 1,000,000 members, one in favor of Barack Obama, and the other against Hillary Clinton. In addition to this popular group, a search of Colbert's name yields more than 500 groups with too many to count that are dedicated to Colbert running for president.
While this gimmick, entertainment, or whatever people may call it, does seem outrageous, we can thank Colbert for at least bringing his younger audience into the dialogue of politics. It is a bit of a relief that mainstream entertainment news is not about Britney Spears losing her children, going to court or doing something ridiculous. Even the death of Anna Nicole Smith gained an absurd amount of primetime and nationwide news coverage before the inevitable backlash against the news overload.
While many people watch Colbert's show and mainly enjoy the humorous fodder, even more may become impressed enough to learn more about campaigns and read the news more often. Part of the draw of shows like "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show" is understanding the news presented or the world leaders that they discuss.
As the focus becomes the younger generation getting the vote out, interest groups, celebrities and concerned citizens look for an effective venue to capture the short attention span of young voters.
However if this campaign of Colbert's plays out, it is a great outlet for students and young voters to view and learn about news in a favorable media.
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