An Evaluation of the Use of Political Comedy Shows Political comedy shows have grown throughout the past decade as influential forces in the world of mass communication. As their reach extends, the public opinion and individual perceptions of politicians during campaigns can be a clear indication of the efficiency of “soft news”. In my research, I plan to assess how the use of different education methods of television broadcasts (The Daily Show and The Colbert Report) can both be efficient and inefficient educational sources within popular campaign and political culture. The mass amount of political information that is presented during campaigns by political comedy shows both entertains the viewers with political humor while informing the …show more content…
It has been documented that exposure to The Daily Show does increase political knowledge within younger viewers (ages 18-24) (Baumgartner and Morris, 200). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart mixes both information and wit onto a platform that is easily understood by unknowledgeable watchers while having optimistic effects on erudition of political knowledge. A study conducted by Baum (2002, 2003a, 2003b) documented a positive linkage between non-traditional news sources (soft news, political comedy shows, in particular The Daily Show) and the potential appreciation for foreign policy. In this aspect, political comedy can facilitate an aspiration to learn about politics by those who traditionally have no desire to understand the political sphere. The derivative of watching political comedy shows for amusement can be the truncated cognitive fact gathering during these informatively enjoyable television shows. Baumgartner and Morris (2006) found that The Daily Show clarified political issues for the viewership, which aided in gaining confidence meant for understanding the