Maybe it Is More Than a Joke: Satire, Mobilization, and Political Participation*
Published online on March 05, 2018
Abstract
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Objective
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between viewing late night political humor and political participation.
Methods
We used various measures of viewership of late night talk shows and political participation in the 2012 American National Election Studies (ANES) data set.
Results
We show that viewership of “Late Night with David Letterman,” a simple form of political comedy, seems to be unrelated to political participation. However, viewership of Comedy Central's “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report,” considered by most to be genuine political satire, is associated with higher levels of political participation.
Conclusion
The results suggest that advocates of political satire may be correct when they suggest that satire mobilizes viewers to political action.
- Social Science Quarterly, Volume 99, Issue 3, Page 1060-1074, September 2018.