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A Comparative Analysis of the 45Th US Presidential Election Coverage in the Late Night Television Comedy

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A Comparative Analysis of the 45Th US Presidential Election Coverage in the Late Night Television Comedy GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 1 Erasmus Mundus Master of Arts Journalism, Media and Globalisation GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES: A Comparative Analysis of the 45th US Presidential Election Coverage in the Late Night Television Comedy by Saltanat Ibraeva Student ID: 11300450 Master’s Thesis Graduate School of Communication Master’s programme Communication Science Supervisor/Examiner: dhr. Mark Boukes Date of completion: June 1, 2017 GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 2 Abstract Late night television comedy, as a modern representation of political satire, “scratches an itch” of not only audience, but also of media sphere and politicians. With Donald Trump running for presidency, the world turned upside down, giving comedians more content to make jokes about. The current study is designed to investigate theoretical ground of political satire as a genre, by setting conceptual foundation for late night television comedy. This research conducts quantitative content analysis aimed to examine commentaries of the three different types of broadcast political satire shows: news parody, late night talk show, and sketch comedy and their coverage of the 45th US Presidential Elections. Specifically, the following US broadcast shows were chosen to fit the criteria of variety and differences in genre: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live. Quantitative analysis proved broadcast satire sub-genres to be statistically different in the proportion and distribution of jokes among different groups of political targets. However, additional finding reveals that content of the three shows is significantly based on pre-existing knowledge. The study facilitates the field of content analysis in the genre of political satire, providing an important base for the future studies and experiments on the effects of satire. GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 3 Introduction For the past few decades, entertainment programming has been increasingly providing humorous commentary on political issues, becoming an alternative news source (Abel & Barthel, 2013; Haigh & Heresco, 2010). This caused a surge of research and studies investigating the effects of the late night commentary, comedy, and parody shows on viewers’ attitude towards political agenda (Young, 2004, 2008, 2013; Dagnes, 2012; Boukes et al. 2015, Matthes & Rauchfleisch, 2013; Compton, 2008 etc.). However, the field of political satire is still lacking studies analyzing precisely the content of the late night comedy shows (Haigh & Heresco, 2010; Morris, 2008; Fox, Koloen, & Sahin, 2007). Motivated by scholarly misbalance, current research has grown to advance the understanding of what there is in the satirical content. Evidence indicates that satire TV shows not only have a potential to educate and inform viewers about political agenda, but also may stimulate interest in citizens disengaged from politics in general (Morris, 2008; Jones, 2005; Young and Tisinger, 2006). Satirical content in the broadcast media made a significant turn: According to Jones and Baym the relationship between the news and consumers used to have one direction, from those who are sitting in the studio, to “us” – regular citizens, with no face and voice, watching the news at home (2010). In contrast, satire consumers more actively engage with information by responding to commentary, news, or parody with laughter. However, there is more than just laughter as an effect of satire. Numerous studies reveal and investigate various ways satire can have an effect on consumers (Young, 2004, 2008, 2013; Dagnes, 2012; Boukes et al. 2015, Matthes & Rauchfleisch, 2013; Compton, 2008 etc.). The effects are differentiated and classified as follows: attitudes and opinion, cynicism and engagement, processing, understanding, and affinity, knowledge and learning (Becker & Waisanen, 2013; Young, 2004; Compton, 2016; Balmas, 2014; Compton, 2008). According to the annual reports of the Pew Research Center, late night comedy and GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 4 satire shows’ audience is significantly represented by youth from 18 to 30 years old, and largely growing since 1996 (Compton, 2008; Young, 2004; Abel & Barthel, 2013). The audience reports itself to be learning about presidential candidates and campaigning from the late night shows (Compton, 2008). However, in a study of demographics and socio-political characteristics of the audience, Young (2004) discovered that these surveys are based on self- reported learning, rather than "on a correlation of exposure with actual knowledge gain". Thus, Young stresses that these measures "should be considered measures of perceived rather than actual learning" (2004). At the same time, the Pew research suggests that young and politically uninformed citizens consider the late night satire shows as sources of political information (Compton, 2008; Young, 2004). Incorporated into the mainstream information environment, it is becoming hard to distinguish and differentiate between the real news and entertainment content (Baym, 2005; Niven, Lichter, & Amundson, 2003). So, this study aims to answer the following research question: What is the information that satire offers and how does the humor deliver substantive and political content? The concept of satire originates in Ancient Greece and has evolved in number of ways (Baumgarther & Morris, 2008; Lerner, 1990; Branham, 2009). It is still a performance of an authority opposition, however staged on broadcast it takes various forms and shapes. Modern, and yet traditional, political satire (Holbert, 2005) is presented in the late night television comedy (Compton, 2008) and differentiated with following political sub-genres: news parody, late night talk show, and sketch comedy shows. Previous studies on political satire usually focus on specific shows familiar to the viewers, ignoring conceptual differences between them (i.e. Becker & Waisanen, 2013). Current study applies this classification for the analysis, providing a more comprehensive perspective on the nature of the shows before comparing their content. This makes current study more scientifically relevant for the field of political satire: Not only does this research make a major contribution to the understanding of GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 5 satire’s content, but also sets a stronger theoretical and conceptual ground for further studies, which in turn leads to a societal relevance. The study may serve as a new point on understanding the effects of satire consumption: to what extent late night television comedy provide political information and in which ways? Having these points in mind, I pursue an empirical analysis of American broadcast satire shows, precisely studying their content in the middle of an electoral campaign. I start by setting theoretical ground in defining satire and establishing the forms it takes in the broadcast media. As a case study for the analysis, I chose the recent Presidential Elections of the United States and its candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The analysis is precisely aimed at the coverage of political targets, candidates, and media. I proceed with methodology of the research, followed by data collection and discussion based on the results of analysis. I expose the differences between the satire shows by revealing the proportion of substantive matter they provide during the election coverage. Theoretical Framework Satire as an Ancient Form of Art Origins of satire root back in the Ancient Greek (satyr) and Roman (satura) societies, where it was perceived as an artful political critique and even as a certain form of magic (Baumgarther & Morris, 2008; Lerner, 1990; Branham, 2009). A satirist was equated to a magician as he was the one “to be regarded with awe, with reverence and with fear” (Caufield, 2008, p.5). To illustrate, legal penalties for “magical incantations” proposed by Plato also included satire. It was believed to be a “gift to ward off evil by harnessing the magical powers of words,” Caufield notes (2008, p.6). In his book, “The Power of Satire”, author Robert Elliot presents a deeper analysis of the concept of satire through the prism of rituals and magic: “[A magician/satirist] uses his powers to enhance the well-being of society GRAB THEM BY THE POLICIES 6 – defending it from its enemies, coercing the powers of nature into favorable performance, enriching the inner life of society through ritualistic ceremony, etc.” (2008, p.6) The magic ritual Elliot is referring to is actually the process of exposing the audience to the critique, which draws laughter: Satirists engaged the audience using a combination of wit, humor, and playfulness (Caufield, 2008). Satire as a form of genre, art, critique, or even magic, is a very complex and fundamentally different material than just humor (Baumgartner & Morris, 2008b). It is explained by the fact that satire contains two messages: direct and indirect (or explicit and implicit by Holbert, 2005; Gruner in Baumgartner & Morris, 2008b). Satire is believed to be a platform delivering substantive political information (Fox, Koloen, & Sahin, 2007; Holbert, 2016) via absurd representations of reality (Baumgartner & Morris, 2008b; Baym, 2005b; Baym & Jones, 2012; Buijen & Valkenburg, 2004; Haigh & Heresco, 2010; Meddaugh, 2010; Painter & Hodges, 2010; Wild, 2015). But symbiosis of substance and absurdity in one matter is not the only distinguishing feature of satire. According to Test, satire consists of four key elements, which are the following: attack, judgement, play and laughter (Caufield,
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