Move Over Talk Radio – Comedy Needs the Fairness Doctrine
by Chris StigallOctober 6th, 2009 –the Comedy Fairness Doctrine was conceived. A liberal civil war was declared. CNN versus Saturday Night Live. The cable news network turned their heat seeking missiles of truth detection on the laser-guided precision of punchlines delivered on a variety show. The weekend preceding this historic day, Saturday Night Live returned for a new season of shows. Their signature opening sketch featured President Barack Obama (played by Fred Armisen) reading off a laundry list of agenda items he pledged to do, and has yet to accomplish since winning the presidency.
The list was comically, painfully long and the audience applauded and laughed at the real-life, obvious absence of leadership the sketch had captured in President Obama. It is key to remember this is the work of comedy writers who could not find something funny about candidate or President Obama for nearly two years. They did all they could to mock anyone and everyone around the man as to avoid skewering the “One” bearing gifts of “hope and change.” But we’re coming up on a year in elected office and the liberals have grown restless.
While their motives were most likely to gently nudge their hero to act on his promises, SNL’s writers still came to the conclusion that they couldn’t afford to lose what comedic street credibility they have left. Doing what they’ve done since the late 70s, SNL finally acknowledged what the electorate recognized in our Commander in Chief months ago. Enter CNN.
Monday, October 6th Wolf Blitzer took to the airwaves:
“It seems no politician is safe from Saturday Night Live. While many people think SNL has mostly spared President Obama, what they’re doing now is not necessarily all that kind. They essentially cast the leader of the free world as a do-nothing president, at least so far. Even though SNL deals in comedy, what they said about the President rings true for a lot of you, apparently. So, did the show accurately capture a mood, or did it go off track for comedic effect? Let’s bring in CNN’s Kareen Wynter. She’s checking the facts for us. All right, Kareen, what are you finding out?”
Yes, CNN fact-checked the comedy of Saturday Night Live.
Just this past Saturday, yet another opening SNL sketch slapped President Obama for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Armisen’s Obama conceded he’s accomplished absolutely nothing to deserve the award. The sketch again received big laughs and applause – and more scrutiny from news media. This time, the analysis came from the news division of SNL’s parent network, NBC. Sunday’s NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt found the anchor asking his correspondent if the White House was “concerned” about the “comedy gloves coming off.”
The comedy world sat up and took notice of the press scrutiny immediately. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart launched into a blistering, 12-minute assault on CNN’s fact-checking session this week. “While you were doing your research did you also find that sharks live in water and don’t deliver candy grams…,” demanded Stewart, referring to a classic SNL sketch called Land Shark.
While Stewart’s admonishment of CNN was hilarious, it was also telling. In just over 20 minutes of actual programming, the host and writers devoted two-thirds of their comedy to assailing CNN. Why? Stewart and company have just been introduced to the chilling effect of a White House and news media offensive traditionally reserved for the “wing-nuts” on Fox News and talk radio.
It’s a beautiful symphony when your comedy, the White House, and the news media are on the same stage swinging at conservatives in concert. Last week, however, the comedians strayed from the sheet music in a major way. The public was demanding their honesty if they were to still enjoy a credible laugh with their favorite shows. In delivering for their audience, our friends in comedy got a taste of the treatment “tea partiers” and conservative talk radio regularly receives. Welcome to the enemies list, funny men.
This will certainly be only the beginning. The fact that CNN and NBC News find comedians poking fun at the president as “news” acknowledges what honest media watchers have known all along. The press, the President, and comedy formed an unspoken “circle of trust” with one another when it came to the Obama administration. Banning together, they helped elect an inexperienced radical as President. They also acknowledge their power “misdirected” individually can destroy all they worked together to create.
The press is still willing to battle on behalf of this White House, but the comedians are off the reservation – choosing honesty over ideology. The comedian’s punishment? Fact checking and discrediting attacks from their former pals. In no time, surely good members of Congress will call for a Comedy Fairness Doctrine. Perhaps all broadcasts of comedy material should be reviewed by the White House before delivery? Maybe an appointed, diverse community board of writers should be created in New York and L.A? If the comedy seems particularly biting to the President or the Democrat Congress, President Obama’s appointed board members may add and subtract punch lines to maintain a sense of humorous equilibrium.
Sure it sounds absurd. It did to talk radio hosts once, too. Not so funny now, is it?
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39 Comments
This series of incidents once again demonstrates the lack of humor liberals have when it comes to one of them. Rather than take advantage of the opportunity, it became completely focused on the fact that people had the audacity to laugh at "The One". If you look at the skit, it didn't laugh or critique any policies or positions or ideology, but instead at the lack of activity. In fact you can argue that it implicitly endorsed his policies. The proper reaction from the WH and media would have been to acknowledge the lack of progress and say that the skit demonstrates that "America" wants the politicians to get out of the way and let Obama do his thing. Instead we get the indignation and CYA reporting from the fringe media we all know and love. For conservatives this is a teachable moment on the type of humor we can expect in the near future and how liberals will react to it. God I miss Mad TV.
Maybe CNN and NBC is looking for a bailout? Pelosi is musing for 2nd stimulus package.
Conservative talk-show hosts have been taking heat for years, yet have not backed down. Let's see how long these comedians can take the heat……………………..or will they have to get out of the kitchen?
Wasn’t it an attempt at fairness that lead to these abysmal attempts at comedy to begin with? If this is what we can expect from the left as humor then I’ll stick with the one-sided jabs at the right. We can take it!
Well if I want to laugh at a liberal's Obama schtick…Keith Olberman still is the funniest shit i've ever seen. Whoever thought of putting that guy on a political show should win the Nobel Prize for comedy.
I'm glad to see SNL making some attempt to make fun of the man everyone claimed was too perfect to mock. But even so, the efforts are weak. They don't even show Obama swinging his head from teleprompter to teleprompter. That should be a gimme. Obviously they don't really want to go after him, but feel they have to in order to stay relevant. Someone needs to tell them it isn't working.
If only the Blitzed Wolfer concentrated as much on fact-checking Mr. Obama's comments as he did the right-on jokes of a comedy show, he might actually discover where the White House truth lies….
Too little too late for SNL, I'll never watch that show. CNN has no credibility, no shame, and no audience.
I don't know what Obama did for laughs in Chicago, but one thing I do know: he never was to a Second City live show. Pay attention, Mr. President.
Surely they can create a "Comedy Czar" oooops "Consultant" position to deal with this travesty………
I think it more likely that, in order to ensure balance and diversity, all performances will be funded exclusively by the National Endowment for the Arts. They will guarantee a "fair" portrayal.
I was struck by Wolf's use of the phrase "leader of the free world". I haven't heard the president referred to that way in many a year.
I want to be the Comedy Czar.
I'm with you.
Enjoy the phrase while it's true.
"The list was comically, painfully long and the audience applauded and laughed…"
The 'c' word isn't comical, it's cowardly. SNL didn't go anywhere near the targets they should have zinged. Van Jones? ACORN? Teleprompter? That 'beer summit' fiasco? Okay, how about Michelle's big butt and those hooker belts of hers? But no, those cowards didn't go anywhere near that. And what they did go near was so weak and humorless that I've seen squashed styrofoam cups that were funnier. Saturday Night Live is dead as a door nail.
Still a demi God in England I'm afraid!
What I think is really funny is that no one on the left has seen fit to criticize SNL for something really major (well in their eyes anyway), why is a "white guy" portraying "The One"? Couldn't they find someone of Color to do it? I don't think it's that dark, but wouldn't that be considered "black face"? Funny how none of the left has mentioned it, but I am sure, now that "civil war" has broken out, they probably will.
from Stephen King's Carrie wasn't it? her mother says "They're going to laugh at you!" and sure nuf they did. and Carrie didn't take it at all well
This is a good reason why we as conservatives shouldn't be touchy about comedy. Clearly as Obama and his friends have shown, being touchy about comedy is a liberal's job. It's their enemy.
I want to be the Bikini Czar. Someone needs to keep the beaches safe for our children.
Performing in "black face" is actually illegal in several states.
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CNN, CNN, where have I heard that term before? Oh yeah, isn't that the Clinton News Network? Weren't they relevant sometime in the 90's for 10 or 15 minutes? I never watch CNN, or SNL for that matter. Two has-beens trying to spark a moment of relevance for themselves. Good luck with that.
I stopped watching SNL and CNN along time ago. I stuck with CNN only for Glenn Beck and once Glenn came to FOX, no more CNN for me. It's amazing how much time (and money) I have now that I stopped participating in the advancement of liberal douchebaggery with my choices in TV, movies, print media, radio, shopping. CNN fact checking an SNL skit because it weakly makes fun of BO only serves to reinforce my decision to stop watching them.
Greg Gutfeld's Redeye has more viewers at 3am than CNN has at 8am.
I'm with you, that wasn't a shot at Obama, that was a vein(?) attempt to prove SNL still has it's edgy chops.
Instead they proved they have nothing.
That boggles the mind. I would have thought all his collective shots at Britain would have turned them cold to him.
I don't know a lot of conservatives – I live in NY – and most of my interaction with them is on the internet at sites like this one.
I have to say, the only touchiness I've noticed is over the obvious bias in comedy these days.
I've seen taped specials of Jeff Foxworthy down in Atlanta do his red neck jokes, and they loved it.
I think O'Reilly's got that covered.
Idiots not wearing clothes
Celebrities engaging in rows
He'll play it-no spin
The ratings, he'll win
The viewers have a right to know.
naked people in the news
viewer discretion's advised
Bill's got it covered.
The softball game will never end while The O is in office.
SNL stopped being funny when Sandler, Myers, Carvey, Spade and Farley left.
It won't end then either, just go into hibernation.
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I don't know if I see it… Sure Jon Stewart criticized CNN for fact-checking a SNL sketch, but the rest of the examples he gave were of how CNN was not fact checking republicans or conservatives either. They are never going to just come out and attack their own liberal media friends. Basically Stewart's message was "Get the focus off of Obama (good or bad) and put it back on the republicans, where it belongs".
I think this article has its heart in the right place but I don't see comedians breaking away from Obama any time soon. That sketch about Obama's failing report card was simply to test the waters, and I think it was a one time thing. The following week when they "mocked" his Nobel Peace Prize win, it was nothing but love taps. They just can't go there, even if sadistically fascinated by the idea. And if you watched the rest of the show, they just laid into Limbaugh, to compensate for the previous week's attack on Obama.
The thrust of the article seems to be that now that comedians are being told that they CAN'T make fun of Obama (which they don't really want to any way) that this will spur them on to do it in a spirit of rebellion. But liberals are conformists, and they believe in a cohesive message, and they believe in restricting free speech if it's for the greater good.
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