A History of Television News Parody in America: Nothing but the Truthiness

Curt Hersey's book explores the history of U.S. media, highlighting how news parody has entertained audiences by satirizing political and social issues. Despite shifts away from broadcast and cable delivery, comedians like Samantha Bee, Michael Che, and John Oliver continue this tradition. The book critically engages with the norms and presentational styles of television journalism at the time of their production, and news parody has increasingly become part of the larger journalistic field. Case studies include Saturday Night Lives "Weekend Update," HBO's Not Necessarily the News, Comedy Central's original Daily Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report, and HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Curt Hersey's book delves into the history of U.S. media, highlighting how news parody has entertained television audiences by satirizing political and social issues in a lighthearted manner. Despite the shift away from broadcast and cable delivery, comedians like Samantha Bee, Michael Che, and John Oliver have continued this tradition of delivering topical humor within a newscast format. Hersey critically engages with the norms and presentational styles of television journalism at the time of their production, examining the history of news parody decade by decade. The book focuses on presidential and political coverage, as well as the genres' critiques of television network and cable journalism. Case studies include Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," HBO's Not Necessarily the News, Comedy Central's original Daily Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report, and HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Scholars of media history, political communication, and popular culture will find this book particularly useful.

Weight: 449g
Dimension: 227 x 150 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793637802