Stephen Colbert is not a real news person/journalist or talk show host

[cynatnite]

No matter how this gets played by corporate media and no matter how many people thought he either missed the mark, made a fool of the dems, skewered the bush administration or whatever their opinions, keep this in mind:

Stephen Colbert hosts a fake show on Comedy Central just like Jon Stewart.

While I thought some of it was funny, some tacky, and some below the belt, Stephen Colbert is a comedian. Whoever booked him for this press dinner knew that.

No one else could have gotten away with what Colbert did tonight...well, except for Jon Stewart.

[GregD]

1. and your point is?

I think that at this stage of things, anyone who can publicly mock * and get away with it is a hero as far as I'm concerned.

[cynatnite]

5. Comedians are the only ones to the extent that Colbert did, IMO

This was in response to some here at DU who aren't pleased with Colbert's performance...plus we can expect the RW blogs to go nuts over it. I'm sure RWer's and corporate media will forget that he's a comedian.

This will probably get the 'Whoopi' treatment by many people after she made some jokes about bush.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[anitar1]

84. I've been reading all the posts and haven't found one yet

that disapproves. Can you direct me to the unhappy posts? Thanks.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. ESPECIALLY

5 feet away from the mockee. :evilgrin:

absolutely brilliant! :bounce:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. R U kidding?

Think of the audience, fer kryst's sake

[RoyGBiv]

3. Yes he does ...

He's a brilliant satirist. Satirists have long been essential in bringing down corrupt governments.

[BigBearJohn]

4. Colbert is a GENIUS with balls as big as an elephant's

[Suich]

6. What part was "below the belt?"

Just asking.......

[cynatnite]

10. Personally, I didn't care for his remarks about the retired generals

Perhaps I have no sense of humor in that area, but it was so not funny, tacky and below the belt.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

WTF?? What did you think Colbert was saying?..........

...Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire.

Understand now?

[cynatnite]

24. Oh, please...

Of course I got it...I don't have to laugh at every joke to 'get it'. :eyes:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

38. If you didn't think it was funny, then you clearly didn't get it.

[cynatnite]

45. So if I don't think something is funny....

then I didn't get it????? OMG! That is a fucking riot! Now I am laughing! :rofl:

Now, I gotta think of all the stuff that I don't think is funny. :eyes:

What the hell kind of litmus test is that? :rofl:

That's two. Just so you know...I'm counting.

1)the 'real' DUer quote
2)if I don't think something is funny, then I don't get it.

Please, keep it up. I want to make a list of the stupidest comments I ever read on DU. So far you're 2 for 3.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

50. I've noticed on DU that when some posters get backed into....

...a corner, they get personally abusive/insulting.

Congratulations on acquiring your corner.

[cynatnite]

54. You made two stupid statements...

:shrug:

I didn't have to do a thing.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

60. Are you wedging your way farther back into that corner?....

...I notice you're at odds with several of us this evening...are they stupid, too?

[cynatnite]

63. No one else said two stupid things in one thread...

just you.

[titoresque]

7. And what makes a "real news person"

these day's? Someone who has the opportunity to tell the truth but chooses instead to laugh at Bush's disgusting disregard for you, me and the entire planet?
I see that Colbert IS indeed a REAL news person. He told the truth tonight, that's NEWS!

[cynatnite]

Colbert is a comedian...

Get real. Yes, he told the truth tonight, but that in no way gives him legitimacy as a news person. :eyes:

[Zomby Woof]

18. Helen Thomas is one of the few "legit" newspersons

And her appearance in his audition video lent him more credibility as a member of the corps than the hundreds of fake journalists in that room you seem to think are "real".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1061719

[cynatnite]

23. Yes, she is legit...

but I won't give Stephen Colbert any credibility as a news person. He's a comedian who told the truth.

[Gabi Hayes]

29. let me spell it out for you so you can understand your OWN words!

your post is an amalgam of contradictions....astounding, actually

WHY should you, or anyone care about giving him credibility as a newsperson? he's not reporting news in any sense of the word, even on his show. his role tonight was NOT as a news person...why do you even entertain him in that vein?

secondly, can we agree that it's a GOOD thing for journalists to be concerned with NOTHING at all, aside from revealing the TRUTH? can we? so, what you seem to be saying is that he has no credibility as a newsperson, despite the fact that he was telling the truth, to which the media today has an extreme aversion

so, what's it going to be? newsperson who tells the truth?

or entertainer who's ostensibly doing the job of a media who....doesn't do its job?

sheesh

[cynatnite]

34. I never said he was legit...

In fact, if you read the title of this thread it states very plainly 'he's not a newsperson'.

What I said was that some will attempt to treat him as somehow being legit whether it's here or on RW blogs.

Lot's of people tell the truth. But how much credibility would they have in reporting it? I tell the truth, you and many others...but very few of us has the credibility by way of education and/or experience to pass news on. Take a look at the backgrounds of those people you believe to be credible. You'll find the reasons why you take them seriously besides telling the truth as you know it.

Colbert told the truth tonight, but it in no way makes him a credible news person...except on his satirical show.

[Gabi Hayes]

55. you're ignoring the thrust of the post to which I responded

credibility resides in the RELIABILITY/truthfulness/honesty of what one says/reports/communicates, not in the bogus resumes of those who have become craven in their search for 'success' in the eyes of those who wield power, thus granting the opportunity for their words to be heard/seen/read.

I can't think of a single TV 'journalist' at this moment who I'd trust as far as I could throw him. as for other types, they aren't ones given any media cognizance, like Robert Parry or Jason Leopold. most people don't even know who they are

the lines are blurred, and whether or not he's a newsperson is irrelevant, really

you say in one voice that he's not to be taken seriously cause he's not a credible newsperson. fine. who cares about that?

does it diminish the impact of what he has to say?

if joe schmuck came in off the street and got up on the podium, said what he said, does it make the words any less true, any less scathing?

truth is truth, no matter who the teller

[cynatnite]

62. credibility is in the eyes of the beholder...

I'm not denying Colbert told the truth. He said what many of us has been saying for quite a while now.

Does speaking the truth make him a credible legitimate news person?

Some people, probably mostly RWer's who are going to be pissed as hell for what Colbert did tonight, will try to treat him as credible which is stupid. He's a comedian. Period. If they take him too seriously, they make themselves look like fools.

The more credible and legitimate the person is in telling the truth, the more people will listen.

[Gabi Hayes]

65. ok, whatever. I give up

you keep agreeing, then disagreeing with what I say

I don't care what the other side thinks. ANY criticism of the maximum ruler is NOT allowed. no exceptions. unless, of course, you're a credible "newsperson" like Tony Snow, whose criticisms of Bush for not being conservative ENOUGH are now being held up as an example of what a credible newsperson HE is.

Snow, who doesn't believe in evolution

how's that for credibility in a newsperson?

[cynatnite]

67. What does Tony Snow have to do with it?

Who thinks he's credible?

[Zomby Woof]

32. You just undermined your own argument

A journalist's first obligation is to tell the truth.

Therefore, Colbert, even if he is a comedian by trade, fulfilled a journalist's obligation by telling said truth.

And so many of these so-called real journalists you speak of, do not tell the truth.

I think you are preoccupied with their occupational title and are overlooking the actual outcomes of their efforts. You protesteth too much on this matter.

[cynatnite]

36. Lots of people tell the truth...it doesn't make them a newsperson

Colbert tells the truth...he's a comedian
Clooney tells the truth...he's an actor among other things
Helen Thomas tells the truth...she is a credible news person.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

[Zomby Woof]

43. Yes I do

You are way too concerned with their titles and not with their accomplishments. It is rather amusing, I may add. :-)

[cynatnite]

46. Titles?

Where did you read that? When did I say that?

I do recall mentioning in other posts about education and experience. Did you miss those?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

51. Are you claiming now that you don't remember what you posted?

[RoyGBiv]

53. Oh please ...

Did you read your OP, or did it just fly out of your fingers all on its own?

You applied the titles, deliberately I might add.

[cynatnite]

58. Uh, yeah, but did you also read other posts I made in regards...

it wasn't just about titles. I mentioned credibility, education and experience in more than one post.

Do you and others only read selectively?

[RoyGBiv]

61. So you say ...

Yet you continue to make it about titles with those "other posts."

Sort of like wearing a blue suit while claiming you don't believe in wearing blue suits.

[cynatnite]

read post #32 n/t

[RoyGBiv]

70. O - kay ...

Can't say I see how that helps your case any, but whatever.

Press on, McDuff.

[cynatnite]

73. Oops #37...sorry about that...

I typed the wrong number.

[RoyGBiv]

81. Still seeing titles ...

It's revoling around the "what is and what isn't a newsperson/journalist" question.

My claim is simply this: It matters not that Colbert is not a newsperson. You imply, in #37, that because he isn't he either won't be remembered or perhaps has no credibility. History shows otherwise. Some of the prime instigators of social and political change were in essence satirists to one degree or another. As noted already, Twain is remembered more for his satirical social commentary than for his journalism. The same is true of someone like George Orwell. Their *fiction* is considered more socially relevant than their factual essays. Hell, some people don't even know Orwell was an essayist.

[cynatnite]

83. I'm saying some will attempt to treat him as such...

I've said this several times and somehow it continues to get ignored.

He does not have the credibility many of us expect or want to have in those who report the news. Yes, he told the truth, but it does not make him a legitmate news person. We here at DU have our ideas of what a credible and legitimate news person is. They have the education, experience, and integrity necessary in passing on information to the public. It is the public who has to have implicit trust in these people.

While it was great, and some of it was downright hilarious, some in the blogs and perhaps corporate media may attempt to treat him as if he were a legitimate news person. When they did that with Jon Stewart, they looked like fools for doing so. Even Stewart made fun of them for doing it. This is what I've been saying throughout my posts.

Only a few in corporate media have had the courage to tell the truth as they should in spite of the many more who do not.

While Colbert and Stewart do tell the truth, the only real telling is when we see it in corporate media.

[anitar1]

86. Is Nancy Grace a credible newsperson? She is featured

on CNN whose motto is "News 24 Hours A Day". Good night now, this is becoming boring.

[Zomby Woof]

71. We read quite well

The fact is, most of these journalists you speak of, and with whom you seem to have such a great stake in defending, have no credibility, pissed away their education, and have wasted their experience. It makes your points moot, and your passion in defending them somewhat disproportionate.

[cynatnite]

74. Oh, I see...

You think I'm defending corporate media.

Is that because I consider David Gregory and Helen Thomas credible reporters, but not Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart?

[Gabi Hayes]

77. don't you see you're wasting your time here with this?

not much point in arguing with somebody who doesn't understand his own posts


love those brass BALLS, btw!

copying into my own little cache, if that's OK

[cynatnite]

78. his? n/t

[Zomby Woof]

87. I know,lol

I went to bed after my last post. :-)

By all means, use the brass balls!

[titoresque]

20. Legitimacy?

uh, I guess if you believe Fox news is legitimate....and ALOT of people do....just because they have "legitimate" news anchors and reporters does it really make it "news"?!

[cynatnite]

27. I haven't mentioned Faux news at all...

Where did you read that? Or are you making assumptions based on what you don't read?

[titoresque]

33. good grief!

forget it! Are you drunk or something?
I can't imagine you are this ignorant.
Goodnight, debate this stupid shit with someone else.

[cynatnite]

37. Sorry...can't help it if you can't clarify your statements n/t

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. He falls into the same category as Jon Stewart....

...and Stewart tells us more REAL news than 95% of the main stream media, IMHO.

Hats off to Colbert for making His Royal Chimpster squirm.

[NanceGreggs]

13. Well, our Stephen defined today's crop of ...

... 'real news people' while he was at it, didn't he?

"The White House makes an announcement, and you just type it up, put it through the spell-check, and go home."

That pretty much sums up 99% of the 'journalists' in attendance tonight.

[AndyTiedye]

14. THIS Is a Real News Person

as Colbert so eloquently demonstrated.

[Zomby Woof]

8. I disagree

The "real" shows are fake. Exhibit A: The dreck hosted by the likes of Paula Zahn, Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity, et al, are pure propaganda, packaged with cool logos and catchy theme music.

Colbert and Stewart, conversely, use satire as a tool to tell the truth. Their shows have more content and truth(iness) than all of the sludge oozing from the mainstream news networks and cable outlets. Plus, their two respective programs have better logos and theme music. ;-)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. Exhibit A: don't forget the

awesome graphics :eyes:

[babylonsister]

9. Baloney. He got 'away' with it because he was right on the mark.

He's more than a comedian. Who could have made dimson look good? :think: Not many people out there. At this moment, I can't think of one person who could have sang the praises of this admin, at least honestly.

[cynatnite]

19. But how many people could have really gotten away with it?

What I'm saying is that not many could have and still retain any legitimacy. Colbert has none simply because he's a comedian and doesn't have to have any. Yes, he told the truth tonight and that's wonderful for so many of us, but if David Gregory had gotten up there and did the same...would he have any credibility for skewering the WH and bush?

If anyone was going to do this, I'm glad it was Colbert, and not someone who is supposed to be credible in today's corporate media.

[babylonsister]

31. That's why Colbert DID get away with it. He's known as a

comedian,he's a force to be reckoned with, and proved it tonight. David Gregory is NOT a comedian and is partisan to the point where, while I think he leans left, isn't able to say too much because of his bosses.
That's why Colbert is so important. He is credible but doesn't have to kowtow to his corporate masters. And didn't. Hallelujah!

[cynatnite]

41. I don't know about importance...but everything else...yes

What I've been trying to say is that Colbert is not a legitimate news person nor is he considered a credible one. I don't understand why people want to continue to put him on the same level as Helen Thomas, for example.

While it's always great when guys like him do tell the truth, it's also important that what they do is kept in the context of how it's delivered. I expect this whole thing tonight will be treated the way Jon Stewart was treated by those clowns on Crossfire...as if he's somehow some real news person when in fact he's not.

I totally love the fact that guys like Colbert and Stewart don't have to roll over for the powers that be. Having them unhinged like this makes it all worthwhile, IMO.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

44. Who put Colbert "at the same level as Helen Thomas"?....

...Got a link to one or more posts in this thread that expresses that opinion?

[babylonsister]

48. He may not be a 'legitimate' news source, but he was scathingly

honest tonight and dressed down the whole admin and press, and did it with a smile. He also did it with a whole lot of truth to back him up. It's difficult to dispute truth.
I don't give a damn who tells the truth in these troubling days, but to see someone do it, walk the walk, is so refreshing.
And at such a revered place, it totally rocked.
Don't knock him. He got the truth out there, and the fact that Colbert was hired to do it speaks volumes about who hired him. They had to know he'd be on the warpath.

[cynatnite]

52. I completely agree and I was not knocking him...

I do remember how Jon Stewart was treated some time ago. Some try to treat him as legitimate and credible. Sure, he tells the truth...even ones we here at DU haven't always liked, but even corporate media tried to paint him as a serious news person.

I do think some may try to do the same with Colbert given what I've read and heard already.

[SnoopDog]

12. I like this definition..

Just remember that this administration is the most evil murderous bunch of people to ever steal the presidency....


"Satire is a form of humour where the writer or speaker tries to make the reader or listener have a negative opinion about someone, by laughing at them, making them seem ridiculous or foolish etc. If someone is being satirical, their aim is not just to amuse, but to affect the person that they dislike; to hurt them, ruin them, etc."

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. Below the belt of criminals who are behind the destruction of our country?

Please....................

[cynatnite]

28. Just because someone makes a joke doesn't mean....

EVERYONE has to laugh at it.

I found some of it funny and some of it not funny. :shrug:

And if you would bother to read what said about that in the thread, you'd know I wasnt' referring to that at all.

[DanCa]

16. He may be a " fake" talk show host

but he got into a real correspondence event. That then and there says billions about the way this administrations handles background checks and security.

[cynatnite]

30. I was curious about who organized it...

Either they were effing brilliant because they knew Colbert's humor or effing stupid because they thought his character would be a complete bushbot.

[DanCa]

35. I am voting for effing stupid

:hug: because I know a good guy and some of the threads were kinda hard on you.

[AndyTiedye]

22. This Has Always Been the Role of the Jester

and seldom done as well as it was tonight.

[ContraBass Black]

79. Amen. He's the like the Fool from King Lear.

He could have read a list of PNAC signatories and it would be comedy, not revolution.

[BeachBuckeye]

25. This was a hard punch in the face to the Bush Administration

I'm so damned proud of Colbert! He absolutely humiliated every damned one of the administration that was there and they KNOW they were had and they also know that if a guy like Colbert has the balls to get up and say what he did then the American public feels the same way. There are NO negatives to what he did tonight. Too bad one of our elected Democratic leaders doesn't have the balls to say what he said in public.

[Swamp Rat]

40. Yep, Colbert undressed the Stupid King and they were powerless to stop him

:D :bounce:

[garybeck]

39. and your point is?

Is Bill Orielly any more of a journalist than Colbert or Stewart? they all have a tv show where they can say whatever they want. One calls themselves a comedian, one calls himself a journalist. what's the difference. Orielly lies, Colbert uses satire.

[951-Riverside]

42. Re: "some tacky"

Who did you vote for in 04?

[cynatnite]

49. Does everyone's humore HAVE to run the same at DU?

:shrug:

What does that have to do with who I vote for?

[brettdale]

47. anyone have a transcript?

anyone have a transcript?

[Gabi Hayes]

57. yes

ha...it's here someplace.

it's an entire thread

[Gabi Hayes]

59. bookmarked!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1060859

[leftstreet]

56. Oh FFS! Mainstream Americans DON'T watch cspan

This "Colbert" debate is ridiculous and irrelevant.

[babylonsister]

64. Bullshit. It will be all over the airwaves tomorrow, if only to let us

know how irreverent he is/was. :eyes: Do you remember Imus and Clinton? Imus got lambasted, and I don't even know why, though I guess he was pretty nasty.
Colbert wasn't nasty; he was truthful.

[leftstreet]

68. No. It will be "all over" the Blogs - not the TeeVee.

The TeeVee being the only place where voting Americans get their information.

[cynatnite]

69. I do think this will be talked about quite a bit come tomorrow...

and Monday, too. It'll probably blow over in a week or so, but I do think a fuss will get made over it.

[leftstreet]

76. Sure. In the blogosphere

and maybe on some low-rated "Hardballs" show. All places where paid pundits work to keep party loyalists distracted.

Monday will be all about Immigration Protests.

Hoorah.

The Corporation is winning!

[cynatnite]

80. Oh, yeah, I forgot about the protests...

I take back what I said. This will be forgotten by Monday.

[Gabi Hayes]

75. Imus was nasty in a very PERSONAL, often sexual way.

he mixed that in with untruths about the various Starr inquistions going on at the time.

Colbert didn't make fun of Bush in the usual way, didn't make fun of his stupidity, just his CUpidity, his cynical manipulation of the media handmaidens whose only check on the junta's power is.....SPELLcheck!

I loved that one

[Lars39]

66. Who are you kiddin'? C Span *is* the news for a lot of people.

[leftstreet]

72. If that were true, Bush wouldn't be in office

C Span is an excellent source for news and information about real politics.

But mainstream Americans watch American Idol and Entertainment Tonight.

[Lars39]

82. And those folks probably don't vote.

[Gabi Hayes]

85. this thread is an exceedingly tiresome vanity exercise

locking

[Jack Rabbit]

88. However . . .

It has been observed in some surveys that those who get their "news" from Jon Stewart are more informed who get their news from other electronic sources such as CNN.

That is a damning indictment of modern American journalism.