KJB 102 - Assignment 2 - Biography on Stephen Colbert

"My character's an idiot. Your job is to set him straight." (Trudeau, 2012). This statement was often told backstage by Stephen Colbert to guests who were to appear on his show, The Colbert Report. It may seem like an obvious statement to the casual observer of his character Stephen Colbert, however closer examination reveals a more insightful satirist and comedian. Looking at where Colbert came from and why he is interesting, we shall examine the convergence in not only the technologies used to deliver his content but also the industries that provide the content. This will lead into a discussion around globalisation and how globalised media corporations such as Viacom’s Comedy Central and global CBS affiliated networks have contributed to Colbert’s popularity to both national and international audiences. Finally, examining his contribution to the public sphere as a satirist of character driven right-wing commentators, we shall ask the question about whether he is merely an observer of the Fourth Estate or an active participant.

Colbert was born the youngest of 11 children on the 13th of May 1964 in Washington DC, but grew up in Charleston, South Carolina (Andronik 2012, 7).

Developing a passion for performance and Improvisation at Northwestern University (P 2003), Colbert joined The Second City Improv Theatre in Chicago. Forming relationships with other performers he developed strong comedic and improvisational techniques, regularly performing in politically themed comedies. After leaving Second City he developed and performed in several TV shows, eventually working as a political correspondent on the satirical The Daily Show. In October 2005, Comedy Central greenlighted The Colbert Report (The Second City Inc, 2017).

“Asking questions, even about matters that are supposed to be accepted without question, like religion is the only way to really understand your beliefs.” (Andronik 2012, 9-10). This was the advice given to a young Colbert by his father before he passed away. I have decided to look at Colbert as I appreciate his ability to satirise current events in the guise of a right-wing commentator, yet still make pointed statements challenging laws and policies in western society. As someone that has an interest in political communication and advocacy work, having integrity and asking tough questions is personally very important. My interest in Colbert originated during his appearances on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show as the over the top right-wing Republican commentator. When Colbert was given his own half-hour program, I was enthralled to see the Stephen Colbert character in a long-form setting. Continuing to make pointed political commentary today, Colbert no longer uses his character that he developed, rather he is himself. Hosting The Late Show, I still find value in his pointed political commentary.

If we look at Colbert’s career from the year 1999 when he first started on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show we can see a dramatic shift in the way media convergence has impacted Colbert’s career. Originally the only way to view the Daily Show in Australia was via the cable TV company Foxtel, on Comedy Central. In 2005 when The Colbert Report started, YouTube and Facebook were revolutionising not only how we connected, but how society accessed content. Then in 2007, Steve Jobs the founder and CEO of Apple, changed the game completely when he introduced the iPhone (Markoff, 2007). Accessing the internet and viewing content online could now be done anywhere at any time. This advancement in mobile technology, combined with the growth in the popularity of the internet meant we were witnessing a convergence of media that would change how we communicate and interact. Dal Zatto and Lugmayr (2016, 5) suggest that this media convergence was occurring in three key ways. Firstly, the digitalisation of technologies such as telecommunication devices. Secondly, changes in consumer behaviour with a desire to access content from multiple devices as soon as it was available. And thirdly, the deregulation of the media industry.

If the convergence of media has changed how we access content then globalisation is impacting on who provides the content. As Dal Zatto and Lugmayr (2016, 5) discuss, consumers can access a wide variety of content from many different companies due to the ease at which content can be created. It has been shown that global media corporations will often purchase smaller content creating organisations to expand into new markets or grow their existing positions. Viacom who own Comedy Central where the Colbert Report was made, is a classic example of this. Viacom is listed as one of the world’s largest media and entertainment corporations (Flew. 2007, 71). Comedy Central is the smaller content provider which produced the Colbert Report. By being under the Viacom banner Comedy Central can provide its content to a global market of almost 4 billion subscribers in more than 180 different countries according to Viacom Inc. (2016).

Although media convergence and globalisation have made viewing and obtaining media easier it does pose problems. Medium sized content providers who offer alterative content may be squeezed or bought out of the market. Turrow (2011, 183) discusses how diversity can suffer when only a few companies control the content we see. Looking at the impact of deregulation, Turrow views it as having more of a negative impact on media providers who are predominately from minority backgrounds. Are these types of consumers Colbert’s target audience? Baym (2010, 147) states that people that view Colbert are predominately audiences that have access to digitalised media services and are very participatory in the process of viewing his content. They often, download information from the Colbert Nation website and watch clips on YouTube rather than view TV via traditional means.

Colbert’s satire on the Colbert Report regarding political opinions and current events often contributed to public debate and discourse. McKee (2005, 4) suggests this contribution is typical of how ideas are contributed to the public sphere. Certainly, Colbert’s contributions to the public sphere was evident from his very first episode of the Colbert Report. In a segment called The Word, he introduced Truthiness. Stephen Colbert stated, “the truthiness is, anyone can read the news to you, I promise to feel the news ‘at’ you” (Alfano, 2006). Colbert is making a statement that facts don’t matter to his character. Telling people the truth, his truth, is what the viewers need to hear. How did he know what the truth was? It’s what he felt in his gut! This concept is also explored by Alfano (2006) when he discusses the idea that Truthiness comes from a philosophical concept called Emotivism. Alfano asserts Emotivism is when people argue values that they personally feel are right or true, even if there is no substance or evidence to substantiate their position. Colbert is contributing to the public sphere by imitating specific characteristics of political right-wing commentators. These commentators present themselves as truth-tellers and generally write off anyone that challenges their beliefs or values as the elite or anti-American.

Probably the most significant impact that Colbert has had on the public sphere came in January 2012. Over a series of episodes, he demonstrated serious flaws in the United States federal election finance system. Stephen Colbert formed his own SuperPac “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” (Comedy Central, 2012) and announced on his show, that he was going to run for President of the United States of South Carolina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWC2BogYlVk

as can be viewed on the CNN YouTube video (CNN, 2012). The segment was a tremendous success and Colbert received a Peabody award for Journalism (Comedy Central 2012). Ted Kopell on the MSNBC YouTube video (see right), stated: “It’s funny until you think about it. The fact of the matter is, Stephen Colbert has proved that by going before the Federal Election Commission, by becoming a SuperPac and now handing the SuperPac over to his buddy Jon Stewart so that he can go along and be president of South Carolina, he is proving how ridiculous this system has become”. Of course, this type of exposure has raised the question about Colbert and other fake news shows crossing the line into the Fourth Estate.

The Fourth Estate as outlined by Allan (2009, 3-4) is generally considered to refer to the press. He discusses how the Fourth Estate’s role is to hold to account those that are in, or those that seek to hold any executive or legislative power. It could be argued that by his actions of calling out issues with political systems, Colbert is acting as a member of the Fourth Estate. Indeed, he was awarded a Peabody in journalism for his work on SuperPacs as previously discussed. However, Colbert is a political satirist and not a journalist. His fundamental job is to entertain and he does this through satire. His career after the Colbert Report is as a host of a late-night talk show which has no journalist aspect. Baym (2010, 167) discusses the argument of public sphere vs Fourth Estate when referencing statements made by Jon Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show. Stewart denies that he and Colbert are part of a “New kind of Journalism”, rather he contends that what they do is a type of “democratic activism”.

In Conclusion, we have discussed Colbert’s career as it relates to concepts such media convergence, globalisation of the media, public sphere and the Fourth Estate. By investigating media convergence concepts, we looked at Colbert’s audiences’ ability to access his content via technology on multiple media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. We have analysed the role of globalised companies in Colbert’s career and how Viacom’s Comedy Central delivers content to viewers. Posing questions about potentially negative impacts of globalisation we looked at whether this has an impact on Colbert. His contribution to the public sphere was noted and we delved into how his satire impacted commentary in the public sphere. This lead to questions regarding his possible role as a member of the Fourth Estate or whether he is simply a contributor to the public sphere.

References

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-truth-of-truthiness/

Andronik, Catherine M. 2012. Stephen Colbert A Biography ABC-CLIO, LLC, Westport

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/lib/qut/reader.action?docID=1887918

Baym, Geoffrey. 2010. From Cronkite to Colbert. 1st Ed. Paradigm Publishers, Boulder London

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