Currently, I’m researching how political humor
in late night comedy shows affects the political attitudes of the general
public. The study covers opening monologues from
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Daily Show With Trevor
Noah.” This year I have the privilege of conducting research under the
supervision of Dr. Robert Lichter, director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs
and a GMU communications professor and alongside doctoral student, Deanne
Canieso.
On a weekly basis, I use a quantitative
content analysis coding scheme to analyze the introduction of each show for
political humor. The joke is categorized based on the target and whether it’s
policy-related, political, or personal. Earlier this week, many of the jokes
concentrated on President Obama’s State of the Union address. Later in the
week, they focused on the GOP debate.
Preliminary
results show that Trump was the target of 308
jokes where 71% of them concerned his
personality or personal traits. 107 jokes targeted Hillary Clinton,
nearly twice as many as her opponent Bernie Sanders. Republicans were targeted
twice as often as Democrats, 590 jokes to 230 jokes. Fallon made the most
jokes. Since the research is in its early stages, a concrete conclusion is yet
to be determined regarding influence on the public’s opinion. As we continue
with the research, we aim to find an adequate answer.
This opportunity has inspired
me to consider pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship to continue to do research at
an accredited institution on a topic related to government/politics. There are
so many unknown variables that need to be explored and expanded. With the
research, I hope to
make a positive difference in the community, where people can learn from it and
hopefully utilize it as well.
