Late Night Leaders
by Angela Carr
The political season is over, votes have been counted, and our new political leaders will be taking office soon. Did the presidential candidate you voted for win? Where did you get the information that was the basis for who you voted? Amazingly enough, many people do not learn about their political leaders through newspapers, broadcasted debates, or television commercials. Since the 2000 presidential election, people have turned to late night television comedies for their political content (Niven, 2003, pg. 118). “Communications scholar Patricia Moy said television comedy in 2000 ‘redefined the way citizens decide the candidate for whom they will vote'” (Niven, 2003, pg. 119).
For decades, the negative portrayal of political leaders has been entertainment for the public. Research has shown that political messages involving humor are more likely to be remembered, and therefore are a more effective means of political communication (Niven, 2003, pg. 120).
David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and John Stewart are four current talk show hosts. Although Stewart models his show as a mock news-program, all four hosts incorporate into their show an opening monolog, a skit, and two to four guests (depending on their allotted air-time). In the monolog, the hosts mention the latest political news stories and use those stories to spin jokes from. During this past political season, the skits have been related to the presidential candidates and the guests have been either TV/movie stars or political leaders (Brown, 2004; Kartun, 2004; Stewart, 2004).
Between the years of 1996-2000, only the most known or the most famous political figures were the targets of the late night comedy jokes. Jay Leno explains by saying, “The audience has to know what you're talking about or else you'll be sunk. [The host] can't know more than anybody watching. And we've found that once you get past secretary of state – and even that's a stretch—no one knows what you're talking about” (Niven, 2003, pg. 121). Most of the time the humor is solely directed at the president or in a political year the presidential candidate.
How does this work? In 1996 Bob Dole was the most joked about. Comedians focused on his age, making jokes involving a 70 million year old sea-turtle that was found and claiming Dole could not believe someone found his long lost pet. In 1997 the most joked about was Bill Clinton. These jokes included his financial dealings, the infamous sexual harassment charges (lasting from 1997-1999) and his eating habits. In 2000, the most joked about was George W. Bush and is intelligence, including such comments as him not being able to count correctly with a microphone in his hand because he can not see all his fingers (Niven, 2003, pg. 126).
Not only do the comedians promote (or demote) candidates by mentioning them in their opening monologues, but the candidates make appearances on the shows for their own publicity. During this political season, John Kerry was on David Letterman reciting a top 10 list that made jokes about himself and his wife. In the past, Clinton , Dole, G.W. Bush and Gore all accepted invitations to appear on late night programs.
People may be attracted to late night TV for the jokes, but little do they know the education they are receiving. Individuals are basing their decision for our political leaders by what they see and hear on these shows, and the networks are aware of this. Late night television does not only portray American culture, it also shapes it.