Coming to J-school: Humor 101

July 27, 2006 by Jeff Jarvis

The Colbert Report exposes the uncomfortable truth about journalists: They have no sense of humor. Watch and laugh… unless you’re a journalist… then mutter.

  • http://robertdfeinman.com/society Robert Feinman

    What does it say about a society that the ony place truth speaks to power is from court jesters?

  • adslfan

    colbert is my hero. hes funny and i understand him more than the buzzmachine guy. also colbert is on the cover of wired and the buzzmachine guy is not.

  • http://www.copyblogger.com Brian Clark

    Good Morning America is journalism?

    Maybe that’s the *real* problem. :)

  • http://erasend.blogspot.com kingdom2000

    You have to give Colbert credit for watching his guest’s back. Wexler stuck his neck out for the joke (fell flat, but at least he tried), the media tries to make hay out of it (this they choose to get uppity about rather then EVERYTHING else that is available?) and Colbert smacks them for it. Bravo.

  • http://www.ralston360.com peter

    Another take is this “expose” of FOX New’s approach to the coke comment (not that Fair and Balanced) needs to exposed:

  • steven

    Robert,
    Court jesters have always been the ones who had the freedom to speak the “truth.” This tradition is rooted in a variety of cultures dating back hundreds of years, including the commedia dell’arte, pantomime, vaudeville, etc. etc.–which is not even to speak of the Native American’s view of the coyote as the “trickster” or the Egyptians (you get my point).

    From the Wikipedia entry for “clown”:

    “being perceived ‘idiots’ they were often the only people in court who enjoyed free speech, and during the 16th century, especially in France, actors began to train as fools often in order to have the ability to make satirical comment. This is mainly where we get the contemporary idea of the court jester…”

    So, what does that say about 16th Century France? Our society is no different. We are not living in a society that is vastly different or unique in this sense.

  • jowfair

    Peter, like the comments on YouTube point out, that “edit” was not only perfectly normal and straightforward – it was the entire point of Colbert’s coaching to get Rep. Wexler to give a statement that could be clipped and soundbitten in just that manner.

    Jeff and Colbert are both right to take the morning shows to task for being so obnoxiously and two-facedly “high-minded” about the interview; Colbert especially had to do so since they took the tack of ridiculing the idea of appearing on his show at all. The “religious” rep. deserved just the smack-down he got and would be that it had came from establishment media.

    There’s neither anything conspiratorial or unexpected that Fox News would run with the clip in just the manner that it did.

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  • Jana Lane

    I don’t watch either “Good Morning America” or the “Today” show but I was amazed by the trivial nature of their “NEWS”. Stephen Colbert gives the news as a jester, but his show is about matters that are of serious concern to all of us. That doesn’t appear to be true of the other 2 shows.

  • http://www.desiworldnews.blogspot.com Jammu

    I’m a court jester and I take offense to the first comment.