Description
Book SynopsisThis book shows how late-night political comedy transformed from personality-focused humor to substantive critique. The analysis includes transcripts from Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report during the presidential elections from 1980-2008, and newspaper commentary about them.
Trade ReviewThis is a fantastic and well-timed study of entertainment and its growing influence in the public sphere. Dubious Pundits persuasively shows how television comedy has moved into the center of debate about politics and important public issues. Political satire shows have changed in important ways, moving away from the more superficial style of personal comedy and toward increasingly nuanced policy-focused themes. As the comedy has changed, journalism has taken notice. It is not only the case that news today looks more like entertainment; it is also that entertainment looks more like news. -- Ronald N. Jacobs, University at Albany
Dubious Pundits offers a critical history of political humor on US television. Nickie Wild tells the story of how late night comedy came to set the political agenda and reshaped the U.S. public sphere. From the Smothers Brothers to SNL, and from David Letterman to John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the book is a must-read for those who seek to understand the current political climate and the central role of humor in public life. -- Eleanor Townsley, Mount Holyoke College
Table of ContentsChapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
