UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2008 When news breaks, "The Daily Show" fixes it: Exposing social values through satire Daniel Brandon McCue University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation McCue, Daniel Brandon, "When news breaks, "The Daily Show" fixes it: Exposing social values through satire" (2008). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2305. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/fmm8-vjo2 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHEN NEWS BREAKS, THE DAILY SHOW IT: EXPOSING SOCIAL VALUES THROUGH SATIRE by Daniel Brandon McCue Bachelor of Arts Hope College 2001 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Journalism and Media Studies Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2008 UMI Number: 1456354 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, If unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1456354 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PC Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Daniel Brandon McCue 2008 Ail Rights Reserved Thesis Approval ITNTV The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas April 15 • 20 _ 08 The Thesis prepared by Daniel Brandon McCue E n titled WHEN NEWS BREAKS, THE DAILY SHOW FIXES IT: EXPOSING SOCIAL VALUES THROUGH SATIRE is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of _______ MASTER OF ARTS i n JOURNALISM a n d MEDIA STUDIES Examination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College ^ Y /0 7 ^< r Exaipination Committee Member ExajirimtiorfCo^imittee Member Graduate College Faculty Representative 11 ABSTRACT When News Breaks, The Daily Show Fixes It: Exposing Social Values through Satire by Daniel Brandon McCue Dr. Lawrence Mullen, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies University of Nevada, Las Vegas This thesis asserts that news satires {The Daily Show, The Onion, Saturday Night Live, and others) expose the mythological function of news by revealing violations of social values expressed implicitly in news stories. By employing irony, a rhetorical trope, these news satires provide a social critique of people and institutional power. Using a combination of critical analysis, content analysis, and historiography, this thesis defines news, irony, satire, and parody, and explores news satires that have found a mass audience in the United States in the decades following the birth of television. A synthesis of these definitions and explorations will support the claim that satires speak “truth” by exposing idealized social values that have been violated by subjects of news stories or by those who report the news. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 IS NEWS SATIRE RELEVANT?...................................................................I Relevance of Satire to News Programming ............................................. 2 A Call for a Critical Analysis of News Satire..................................................................... 4 Trajectory of Research............................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2 AUTHORS AND AUDIENCES, TEXTS AND MEANINGS: HOW SATIRE WORKS..........................................................................................................................8 Definitions................................................................................................................................ 9 Irony in Historical Context.................................................................................................. 16 Role of Audience in Irony.................................................................................................... 18 Judging an Ironic W ork ....................................................................................................... 25 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 3 A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF NEWS SATIRE IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE WORLD WAR II.......................................................................................... 31 MAD Magazine.....................................................................................................................31 Saturday Night Live..............................................................................................................38 The Daily Show.................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 4 TELEVISION NEWS: STORING HOUSE OF SOCIAL VALUES......47 The Nightly Network News............................... 52 The Contemporary News Landscape..................................................................................56 News and Mythology............................................................................................................57 Violation and Exposure of Social Values in Mass M edia .............................................. 60 CHAPTER 5 NEWS SATIRE: REPAIRING “BROKEN” NEWS................................ 64 News Satire as Critique and Exposure of Social Norms ..................................................67 Subjects of News Satire ...................................................................................... 68 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 73 Limitations of Research....................................................................................................... 74 Suggestions for Future Research ........................................................................................ 75 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 78 V ITA..............................................................................................................................................87 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this thesis has helped me better understand that the processes of writing and research are intensely collaborative. I thank my adviser and committee chair, Dr. Larry Mullen, for his sage advice, patience, and encouraging words. I also thank Dr s. Tony Ferri, Greg Borchard, and Anne Stevens for serving on my committee for their comments, suggestions, and revisions. Together, they pushed me to probe deeper into news satire - how it works, and what it really means to say. Writing this thesis did not take place in a vacuum, though I wish it had. I thank my wife, Sara, for her incredible patience, encouragement, and understanding. It was worth the journey, even if meant occasionally skidding off the path into a snow bank. You are a blessing, and I have you.. .to thank.. .for this. I also thank my family, especially my parents, Mike and Debbie, and my brother, Chris. As a child, you warped my mind, letting me read MAD Magazine, watch Saturday Night Live and Airplane!, and listen to “Weird Al” Yankovic, Tom Lehrer, and Dr. Demento. My reaction to all this subversive content? Critical analysis. Nevertheless, your constant encouragement and love (and occasional pestering) have been rewarded. Also, I thank my colleagues at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. They provided encouragement, resources, and sustenance as I wrote and revised the final drafts of this document. Finally, a big thank you to friends, family, and colleagues for your support: you were the crowd cheering me on to the finish. Finally, I dedicate this work to my late grandparents, John and Merle Daniel. Grandma died shortly before I began this program and Grandpa died shortly before I finished it. Both supported my undergraduate and post-graduate education in many ways; they would be proud to