PHILADELPHIA – Score one for the “Colbert Nation.”
Viewers of “The Colbert Report” who watched faux-conservative TV host Stephen Colbert set up a super PAC and 501(c)(4) organization during the last presidential election cycle proved to be better informed about campaign financing and the role of money in politics than viewers of other news channels and shows, according to a new study.
“It’s the first study actually showing that Colbert is doing a better job than other news sources at teaching people about campaign financing,” said Bruce W. Hardy, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a senior researcher at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. “Consistently, we found that Colbert did better than every other news source we included in our model.”
The study, published online in Mass Communication and Society, tested “The Colbert Report” against CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and broadcast nightly news, as well as talk radio and newspapers as sources of political information. The study, “Stephen Colbert’s Civics Lesson,” was based on phone survey data from 1,232 adults 18 years or older who were interviewed between Dec. 13, 2012 and Dec. 23, 2012.
Watching “The Colbert Report” served as “an extended civics lesson,” the researchers said. The show not only increased people’s perceptions that they knew more about political financing, but significantly increased their actual knowledge, and did so at a greater rate than other news sources. Other activities that increased knowledge about super PACs and 501(c)(4)s to a lesser degree included reading a daily newspaper, listening to talk radio, and watching Fox News.
“Colbert did better than any other news source at teaching,” Hardy said. “There were two reasons. First was the narrative structure. He walked us through creating a super PAC and every episode was a continuation of that story. And second was the use of humor and satire.”
For the complete news release, click here. For the study, click here.
Stephen Colbert talks about the study on the June 4th edition of “The Colbert Report.”
Courtesy: The Colbert Report
The Colbert Report website cites the APPC study under “Who’s Honoring Me Now.”
News coverage of the study:
- Super PAC aims to end all other super PACs (The Boston Globe, June 29, 2014)
- Colbert Report doubles as crash course in campaign finance (The Daily Pennsylvanian, June 11, 2014)
- No Joke: ‘The Colbert Report’ Voted ‘Most Informative U.S. News Source’ (PRNewser, June 9, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert: ‘Clearly I Must Work Harder at Informing You Less’ (TVNewser, June 8, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert on being named most informative news source: “I’m incredibly sorry” (The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert exults in Colbert-crowning study (The Washington Post, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert ‘Incredibly Sorry’ For Teaching People About Campaign Financing (The Hollywood Reporter, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert Apologizes To America For Actually Being A Reliable News Source (Huffington Post, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert is sad you learn more from “The Colbert Report” than from the news (Salon, June 5, 2014)
- Colbert Declares Victory over ‘Every Other News Organization — and CNN’ (Mediaite, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert, Upon Learning He’s Been Educating His Viewers, Promises To Knock That Off Immediately (Screen Junkies, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert Promises To Inform Less After Study Ranks His The Most Informative U.S. News Program (Deadline Hollywood, June 5, 2014)
- The Colbert Curriculum: Stephen Colbert’s Viewers Know More Stuff About Things (Wonkette, June 5, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert apologizes for inadvertently informing his viewers better than cable news (The Week, June 5, 2014)
- The Colbert Report Informs More Viewers Than Others (WebProNews, June 5, 2014)
- The Colbert Report’s Unintended Educational Value (The Colbert Report – Comedy Central, June 4, 2014)
- Colbert viewers learned more about super PACs than news-junkies (Boing Boing, June 4, 2014)
- How Stephen Colbert taught Americans about Super PACs (Vox, June 4, 2014)
- Study Finds Watching The Colbert Report Is More Informative Than Watching The News (Time.com, June 4, 2014)
- Passionate About Campaign Finance? Thank Stephen Colbert (InTheCapital, June 4, 2014)
- TYT: Why Stephen Colbert Should Be Proud And The Media Should Be Ashamed (Crooks And Liars, June 4, 2014)
- I worked on Penn study finding Colbert more informative than traditional journalists (Philadelphia Business Journal, June 4, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert, Master Teacher? (America, June 3, 2014)
- We’re Learning More From Stephen Colbert Than The Actual News (Huffington Post Live, June 3, 2014)
- CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin (CNN, June 3, 2014)
- Colbert More Effective At Teaching Campaign Finance Than Professional Journalists, Study Shows (Opposing Views, June 3, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert: America’s Civics Professor (O’Dwyer’s, June 3, 2014)
- Study: Stephen Colbert More Effective Than Journalists At Explaining Campaign Financing During Last Election Cycle (Editor & Publisher, June 3, 2014)
- ‘The Colbert Report’ is more informative than actual news (Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 3, 2014)
- ‘Colbert Report’ more informative than actual news: study (New York Post, June 3, 2014)
- How Colbert Taught America About Campaign Finance (Fishbowl NY, June 3, 2014)
- For TV news, funny beats boring: study (Agence France-Presse, June 3, 2014)
- People learn more about campaign finance from Stephen Colbert than cable news (United Press International, June 3, 2014)
- Don’t get campaign finance? Experts recommend watching more Comedy Central. (The Washington Post, June 3, 2014)
- ‘The Colbert Report’ more informative than traditional news sources, study finds (WSJ MarketWatch, June 3, 2014)
- Study: Stephen Colbert’s Audience More Informed Than News Media’s (Newsmax, June 3, 2014)
- No joke: Satirical Colbert Report more informative than actual news, study finds (Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), June 3, 2014)
- Satirical spin woos TV news viewers (Gulf-Times, June 3, 2014)
- Colbert Is Ivy League TV Compared to Fox News (The Daily Beast, June 3, 2014)
- Sideshow: Colbert explains politics for us all (The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 3, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert educated viewers about campaign finance better than cable news, study shows (Cleveland.com, June 3, 2014)
- Laugh and learn? Stephen Colbert taught audience more than traditional news outlets, study says (AL.com, June 3, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert Viewers Know More Than Fox News Viewers According to New Study (PoliticusUSA, June 2, 2014)
- Stephen Colbert more effective than journalists at explaining campaign financing says study (Daily Kos, June 2, 2014)
- Study: Stephen Colbert Taught 2012 Campaign Financing Better Than CNN & NBC (Bustle, June 2, 2014)
- Study: People Are Learning More From ‘The Colbert Report’ Than Any Other News Show (Uproxx, June 2, 2014)
- Study confirms the best way to learn about campaign financing is from Stephen Colbert (AV Club, June 2, 2014)
- ‘Colbert Report’ Did a Better Job Than News at Teaching People about Campaign Financing (The Hollywood Reporter, June 2, 2014)
- Penn study: Colbert’s civics lesson ‘not just a proliferation of jokes’ (Philly.com, June 2, 2014)
- Is Stephen Colbert More Informative Than TV News? (TVNewser, June 2, 2014)
- We’re Learning More From Stephen Colbert Than The Actual News, Study Says (Huffington Post, June 2, 2014)
- Colbert’s Audience Knows Way More About Super PACs than Cable News Viewers Do (Mediaite, June 2, 2014)
- Study: Stephen Colbert More Effective Than Journalists At Explaining Campaign Financing During Last Election Cycle (Deadline Hollywood, June 2, 2014)
- New Study Links ‘The Colbert Report’ to Presidential Election Campaign Knowledge (Variety, June 2, 2014)
- Learning from Colbert (Politico, June 2, 2014)
