Some are wondering if there was a media blackout on the Comedy Central satirist doing his routine within feet of a clearly unamused President George Bush and Laura Bush.
Speculation that that the media blacked out Colbert either knowingly or due to its choices can be seen all over the Internet. A few places here,here, here and on many sites too numerous to list here.
Others (some 20,000 and rising so far) are thanking Colbert through a website.
Our view? As someone who worked in the news media, no, editors haven’t been sitting in little rooms rubbing their palms saying, “Let’s see how we can ignore Stephen Colbert and keep what happened out of the paper!” Remember, this is the same news media that is also acutely disliked by the Bush administration.
It’s more a matter of editors on deadline looking at stories and making spot-decisions and news choices. (Lots of decisions are made each day and some are better than others).
They had a “high concept” comedy bit with Bush and a Bush impersonator that only required a quick sound bite or quote or two and a super-fast description, and the audience would get the point of the gig and it would generate a laugh from viewers/readers.
Then they had Colbert’s more complex, layered routine based on the use of irony and sarcasm, with Bush sitting several feet away looking as if he was about to undergo a root canal. It would take a little bit more effort to detail that story (more of a political story versus report on a comedy gig) than do a quick take on the two Bushes routine (immediately understandable in a Mad Magazine-ish sort of way).
Editors also likely saw the E&P piece and/or any news agency report that mentioned Colbert’s biting routine and felt that covered them on reporting that.
But the most important fact was probably that there were “two George Bushes” on the stage.
How often do you see George Bush and a Bush clone side by side — unless it’s when Sean Hannity interviews the President?
UPDATE: In some emails (and in some comments) there’s a belief that the Colbert story didn’t get more coverage because some in the press fear or dislike the left and that some reporters and editors like George Bush. Once again, conservatives will argue it the other way (and have for many years).
But, that aside, the point is: it isn’t as if there is some monolithic control of the press on this story. Top editors truly don’t sit in and say to assignment editors and reporters: “Nope. Let’s not allow that story to get out.” The way news stories are selected, if you had to place money on it, you’d be safer betting it was a combination of taking the easy way out (see above) on a story, oversight — or just the lack of a “pack” mentality on this story.
The pack mentality is why many stories develop “legs.” Sometimes a story is covered because an editor sees other news organizations cover it. If theNew York Times had run a big story about GWB being “dissed” and turning red, perhaps others would have quickly followed suit.
If there was some kind of intentional blackout, then it also wouldn’t explain why CBS 60 Minutes did that excellent profile of Colbert but barely recapped his gig the evening before. This truly seems a matter of news judgments.
Another possible factor: yes, Colbert used satire to skewer a clearly uncomfortable Bush and part of the audience seemed unsure of how to react to it and greeted him with silence at times. But his performance was NOT a repeat of radio talk show host Don Imus’s 10 years ago.
In the case of Imus’ performance, you could almost smell the “flop sweat” as his routine bombed before President Bill Clinton. Colbert didn’t let up or waver for one minute. So it wasn’t about a speech from hell (at least from Colbert’s perspective). And, from that perspective, journalists couldn’t accurately report on witnessing a comedic car crash (although some conservatives do disagree).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.