For years Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and later The Colbert Report were recognized for their ability to provide astute and often sharp criticisms of government, politics, the media, and other institutions. But HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which, at first glance, is just another satirical fake news show that follows the same model, is by all counts deeper, sharper, and far more activist with its frequent calls for political and social action. Perhaps the most obvious reason for why Oliver’s show stands apart is because it is on HBO, a network that provides greater creative control to its producers and does not rely on advertising. Hence, when Oliver criticizes General Motors, he can do so without the same worry that Stewart or Colbert would have faced knowing that Comedy Central relies on GM as a client. But Last Week Tonight has also thrived in large part because of social media and the fact that HBO has made it available on YouTube. Although the Comedy Central programs can also be watched online, Last Week Tonight has embraced the new form of content-driven television on the web in a far more aggressive and meaningful way. This paper will first consider theoretical concepts regarding how both the commodity form and the architecture of a medium impact content and will then compare segments from the three programs that cover the same or related political issues and news stories.
About the presenterKatrina Flener
Katrina Flener is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Department at La Salle University in Philadelphia where she teaches media production. A recent graduate of Temple University’s Media & Communication program, Katrina’s dissertation is titled Drug Narratives and Differences in Ideological Content across Varying Economic Models of Television.