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Is “Fake News” the New News?
The Effect of “The Daily Show” on Media and Political Knowledge
Heather Avenson
Bemidji State University
Political Science Senior Thesis
Bemidji State University
Dr. Patrick Donnay, Advisor
April 2010
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Impact of 'The Daily Show' & 'Colbert Report' on Political Knowledge: Bemidji State Univ. , Slides of Political Science
The role of 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' as sources of news and their impact on political knowledge among Bemidji State University students. Using data from the Pew Research Center and a survey of political science students, the author examines the relationship between viewing these shows and political knowledge, as well as the consumption of other news sources.
What you will learn
- How do journalists and media critics view the reliability of 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' as sources of news?
- What is the relationship between watching 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' and political knowledge?
- How does the age group of college students respond to these shows in terms of political knowledge and engagement?
- What previous research has been conducted on the impact of 'The Daily Show' and 'Colbert Report' on political knowledge?
- Do people who watch these shows also get news from other sources?
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Is “Fake News” the New News?
The Effect of “The Daily Show” on Media and Political Knowledge
Heather Avenson
Bemidji State University
Political Science Senior Thesis
Bemidji State University
Dr. Patrick Donnay, Advisor
April 2010
Abstract
One can hardly argue the impact that “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” have had on popular culture. But do these shows also hold an impact on journalism and political knowledge? In other words, are “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” reasonable sources of news? Using data gathered by the Pew Research Center in April of 2008, and by myself through a survey of Bemidji State University students enrolled in political science courses, I attempt to answer the following questions: Are people who watch either “The Daily Show” or “Colbert Report” more informed than their counterparts? Do people who watch these types of programs also get news from other sources?
Introduction
In the winter of 2008, I was skimming through the TIME magazine when I came across the phrase “The Colbert Bump”, which is the bump in poll numbers presidential candidates experience after they appear on the Colbert Report. A similar show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , which helped launch Stephen Colbert and his Colbert Report , hosted all the major presidential candidates during the 2008 campaign season. In addition, Jon Edwards announced his candidacy on The Daily Show in 2004, and Joe Biden appeared on the show the same day he announced his candidacy in late 2007. Senator John McCain has appeared on the show a total of 13 times, and feels it’s an excellent way to reach out to young voters. Furthermore, The Daily Show was invited to cover both the Republican National Conventions and the Democratic National Conventions in 2004 and 2008. While both of these shows purport themselves to be
Literature Review
Firstly, TDS has garnered some critical attention for its “Indecision” presidential campaign coverage. TDS started the “Indecision” programming in 2000, the infamous Bush/Gore election. The same year, TDS won its first Peabody award for the “Indecision” coverage, and four years later, in 2004, it would go on to win a second Peabody for the “Indecision” coverage. TDS also won a Television Critics Association Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in News and Information’ in 2003; beating out more traditional programs like Frontline, Nightline , and 60 Minutes (Feldman, 2007: 410). In 2008, TDS was again nominated for a Peabody award, this time losing out to its successor, CR. TDS also received some attention from journalists in 2003, when a reporter form the Fort Bragg Advocate wrote a letter to American Journalism Review that stated the following: The TV networks didn’t do their jobs during the Iraq war, and the sad fact was the best news coverage on the subject of the war was to be had on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. A comedy show practically broke the story on the Halliburton no-bid contract connection to the Bush administration. (Mickey, 2003:5). In fact, in a study entitled “ The Daily Show and Public Attentiveness to Foreign Policy Crises” Xiaoxia Cao found that exposure to TDS increases the attentiveness of people who don’t normally follow the news. Cao also found that TDS devotes 46% of its coverage to world events in non-election years. Furthermore, TDS has twice imbedded
journalists in the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan – Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in
Another study entitled “Dispelling Late Night Myths” by Dannagal G. Young and Russell M. Tisinger found that 21% of people ages 18 to 25 were getting their campaign news from TDS and its “Indecision” coverage. The same study also found that TDS viewers tended to be more knowledgeable than average, although having more knowledge wasn’t necessarily contributed to watching TDS. As Jon Stewart himself stated, “If [kids] came to our show without [prior] knowledge, it wouldn’t make any sense to them,” (Young, et al: 2006: 117). Jon Stewart was on to something, because it was found that people who watched TDS tended to be heavier consumers of all types of news, and that learning from TDS was positively associated with learning from more traditional sources. In fact, watching TDS was likely a gateway to consumption of more traditional news. However, not all the news about TDS has been good. In a study entitled “The Daily Show Effect: Candidate Evaluations, Efficacy, and the American Youth”, Jody Baumgartner and Jonathan S. Morris assert that while presidential candidates can improve their image while actually appearing on TDS , the relentless skewering they suffer when not on the show may actually do more harm than good. This study also contradicted the Young study, and found that while 48% of college age young adults watch TDS , only 23% followed more traditional sources closely, which contributes to artificially inflated perceptions of the viewer’s own political knowledge. Furthermore, TDS viewers exhibit a greater degree of cynicism towards the electoral system and media as a whole, which could possibly lead to the college age group to not participate in the
because I feel that is a role [ TDS has] not embraced. Maybe we’re kidding ourselves in thinking that’s not what we’re doing. My mentality is more from the perspective of an angry guy at a bar…we hopefully do it the way we know best, which is with absurdity and sarcasm and silliness. (Wallis, 2009: 20). There are others, like Jessica Clark in her article, “In Politics, Comedy is Central” who call Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert “the era’s most effective media critics”. In a study called “No Joke: A Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Broadcast Network Television Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign”, Julia Fox, Glory Koloen, and Volkan Sahin found that while TDS is more humor than substance, its “Indecision” campaign coverage was found to be just as substantive as the broadcast networks’ campaign coverage.
Methods and Analysis
So what does this all mean? Can TDS and its companion show CR be considered a reliable source of news? Furthermore, as previous studies have suggested, does watching these types of programs lead one to consume more traditional sources of news? Hypothesis 1: It is possible to gain some political knowledge by watching TDS and CR. Before looking at this more closely, I would like to point out that the reason CR has largely been left out until now is quite simply because it is a newer program and there really haven’t been any serious studies done about it yet. Data gathered by the Pew Research Center in 2008 and by myself in 2010 was used in order to test this hypothesis.
The following table represents the Pew Research Center data regarding CR. It measures the frequency with which the respondent watched CR with how the respondent performed on a short political knowledge quiz. Here, the relationship between viewing the CR and performance on the political knowledge quiz is significant and moderate, with a Somer’s d value of .137. As demonstrated by the table, political knowledge did tend to
Table 1: Colbert Report Viewing Frequency and Political Information (Pew Data) increase among those who watch CR while those who never watch CR tended to perform more poorly overall. Specifically, approximately 47% of those who watch CR “frequently” were able to answer all three political questions correctly, as opposed to only about 22% of those who reported “never”. The next table represents the Bemidji State University student data regarding CR. Here again, the table is measuring the frequency with which the respondent watched CR with how the respondent performed on a short political quiz. As shown on the table on the following page, the results are fairly similar to that of the Pew Data. Again, the number correct on the political quiz tended to go up among those who frequently watch CR , and the “never” category performed more poorly overall. Of those who watch the program frequently, about 46% were able to answer all three political questions correctly,
CrfreqP Polquiz
Never Rarely Occasionally Frequently Total
None Right 203 / 30.7% 23 / 23.5 % 18 / 15.3 % 4 / 8.5% 248 / 26.8 % One Right 182 / 27.5% 25 / 25.5 % 20 / 16.9 % 9 / 19.1 % 236 / 25.5 % Two Right 133 / 20.1% 28 / 28.6 % 30 / 25.4 % 12 / 25.5 % 203 / 22% Three Right 143 / 21.6 % 22 /22.4 % 50 / 42.4 % 22 / 46.8 % 237 / 25.6 % Total 661 / 100% 98 / 100% 118 / 100% 47 / 100% 924 / 100%
TdsfreqP polquiz
Never Rarely Occasionally Frequently Total
None Right 179 / 31% 21 / 18.6% 33 / 21.9% 7 / 17.1% 240 / 27.2% One Right 175 / 30.3% 36 / 31.9% 37 / 24.5 % 12 / 29.3 % 260 / 29.5% Two Right 129 / 22.4% 25 / 22.1% 42 / 27.8% 4 / 9.8% 200 / 22.7% Three Right 94 / 16.3% 31 / 27.4% 39 / 25.8% 18 / 43.9% 182 / 20.6% Total 577 / 100% 113 / 100% 151 / 100% 41 / 100% 882 / 100% Table 3: Daily Show Viewing Frequency and Political Information (Pew Data)
The fourth table represents the Bemidji State University student data, and again compares the frequency of viewing TDS against performance on the political knowledge questions. Again, performance on the political knowledge was better for frequent viewers, while those who never watched performed more poorly overall. For those who reported frequently watching TDS , 55% were able to answer all three political questions correctly, as opposed to only about 18% who never watch TDS. The relationship between viewing TDS and performance on the political knowledge quiz is slightly stronger than all the previous data regarding both CR and TDS , with a Somer’s d value of .160, which, while still only moderate in strength, is slightly stronger, than the previous relationships.
TdsfreqB polquiz
Never Rarely Occasionally Frequently Total
None Right 39 / 22% 8 / 15.1% 8 / 19% 2 / 10% 57 / 19.5% One Right 58 / 32.8% 12 / 22.6 % 10 / 23.8% 4 / 20% 84 / 28.8% Two Right 48 / 27.1% 17 / 32.1% 12 / 28.6 % 3 / 15% 80 / 27.4% Three Right 32 / 18.1% 16 / 30.2% 12 / 28.6% 11 / 55% 71 / 24. Total 177 / 100% 53 / 100% 42 / 100% 20 / 100% 292 / 100% Table 4: Daily Show and Political Information (BSU Data). Finally, previous research mentioned that watching TDS and CR probably indicated consumption of other types of news as well. To that end, I look only at the Bemidji State University student to see if the previous research holds true. Hypothesis 2: Students who at least occasionally watch TDS / CR are also getting news from other sources. Out of the 62 Bemidji State University students who at least occasionally watch TDS : 35 watch CNN, 29 watch NBC, 22 watch MSNBC, 21 watch FOX News, 20 watch ABC, 18 watch CBS, 12 watch CNBC, and 6 watch “other” – most frequently BBC, but with one ESPN viewer which was not really what I was looking for. Of these 62 students, 19 are at least occasionally using social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter as a source for news, 35 read newspapers, and 35 listen to the radio as a source for news. Out of the 72 students who at least occasionally watch CR: 38 watch CNN, 32 watch FOX News, 31 watch NBC, 23 watch MSNBC, 22 watch ABC, 20 watch CBS, 13 watch CNBC, and 5 watch “other”, which was again most often BBC. Out of these 72
adding that he felt Stephen Colbert in particular was able to get away with things that other journalists cannot; because of the satirical character he’s created. Another participant said that Jon Stewart is able to do the same thing, and that because he is more comedian than journalist (which Stewart will always deny when asked if he is, in fact, a journalist) he is able to provide a commentary that perhaps more conventional journalists would be unwilling or unable to provide. In a way, it is somewhat Shakespearean, with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as the court jesters who are getting at the truth of the matter. A couple of the participants brought up that TDS is broadcast on International CNN as though it were “real” news. One stated that while he was in Africa it seemed that more people were watching Jon Stewart and TDS than other news programs. Finally, I asked the participants more specific questions about their other sources for news. The participants reported reading the following periodicals: The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, and Utne Reader. The participants also reported watching the following programs: NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (Brian Williams has appeared on TDS a few times, with Jon Stewart even asking a giant Brian Williams head for advice), The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (who has hosted Jon Stewart as a guest on his program), Countdown with Keith Olbermann (who is often ridiculed by both Stewart and Colbert for his radical, divisive reporting style), and The Rachel Maddow Show (who so far hasn’t had much to do with either program). When asked about the Internet as a source for news, the participants said they didn’t really consider it so much a source as a supplement to the news, although one participant stated that he will look something up using the Internet if he doesn’t know much about it.
Discussion and Conclusion
Looking at both the Pew data and the Bemidji State University student data, I am not comfortable stating that viewing either TDS or CR necessarily leads to more political knowledge since the relationship was only weak to moderate in both surveys. However, from the results of the focus group, it is clear that at least some people who watch these programs are learning something from it. While previous studies have shown that TDS viewers performed better on political quizzes, I wasn’t able to make as strong assertions. The Bemidji State University student data also shows that at least some of the people who are watching either TDS or CR are also getting news from other sources, although it isn’t clear whether these programs were the “gateway” to these students going to other sources of news. Even the results of the focus group were a little bit mixed, with one participant stating that he really had no interest in current events whatsoever outside of what he sees on TDS/CR. Overall, the results are largely inconclusive, and while I maintain that it is probable for someone to be informed by watching TDS or CR , it would probably behoove that person to use other sources of news as well.
Appendix
Pew Research Center Media Survey and Political Knowledge Index
Respondents were asked the following questions via telephone:
- Do you happen to know which party is in control of Congress?
- Do you happen to know who the current Secretary of State might be?
- Do you happen to know who the current Prime Minister of Great Britain might be?
- Who recently won the Senate Seat in Massachusetts?
- Who is the Secretary of State?
- Who is the Prime Minister of Great Britain?
The answers to these questions were added together to create a scale, with the highest score being three (that is, all three questions were answered correctly) and the lowest score being zero (no questions were answered correctly).
Respondents were also asked the following questions regarding TDS/CR :
- How often do you watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart?
- How often do you watch The Colbert Report? The answers to these questions were coded as follows: “3” for “Frequently” “2” for “Occasionally” “1” for “Rarely” and “0” for “Never”
The students were also asked about other sources for news, and for other cable network sources I listed: FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Other, and asked the respondent to circle each one they watched and additionally to fill in the blank for the Other category. I coded “1” per circled response and “0” for each one not circled.
The students were also asked about using social networking sites as a source for news. Here the response categories were again “Frequently” “Occasionally” “Rarely” and “Never” with the answers being coded as “3”, “2”, “1,” “0”.
I also inquired about reading newspapers as a source for news, and here again the response categories were “Frequently” “Occasionally” “Rarely” and “Never” which were again coded as “3”, “2”, “1”, and “0”.
Finally the students were asked if they used the radio as a source for news. The response categories again were “Frequently” “Occasionally” “Rarely” and “Never” and coded as “3” “2” “1” and “0”.
Bibliography
Baumgartner, J, & Morris, J.S. (2006). The Daily Show effect: candidate evaluations, efficacy and the American youth. American Politics Research, 34 341 – 367. Bauder, D. (2007, August 7). ‘Indecision 2008’ is heating up. Richmond Times- Dispatch, p. C2. Carer, B. (2009, August 26). Comedy Central tries to gauge passion of its viewers. New York Times, p. B3. Cao, X. (2006). The Daily Show and public attentiveness to foreign policy crises. Paper prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, August 31 – September 3rd^ , 2006. Clark, J. (2006). In politics, comedy is central. Available online at inthesetimes.com/article/ Feldman, L. (2007). The news about comedy: Young audiences, The Daily Show and evolving notions of journalism. SAGE Publications, 8 406 – 427. Fox, J., Koloen, G. & Sahin, V. (2007). No Joke: A comparison of substance, in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and broadcast network television coverage