Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 1

Today’s News Presented by Political Satire:

College Student’s Perception of “Fake” News

Carrie E. Bartholomew

University of Nebraska at Omaha

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 2

Abstract

Political satire is an untraditional way that people are turning to to learn about national

and international politics, and this study shows how students at the University of Nebraska at

Omaha (UNO) view political satire. There were 40 students (13 males and 27 females) surveyed

between the ages of 19-26 across 23 different college majors. Surveys were dispersed over email

to students and they were asked to email their answers back to the author. Some surveys were

also done in-person. The results of the survey showed that 60% of the respondents believe that

real news more accurately reports what is happening in the world. It was also an equal 40%-40%

split on students who believe political satire is a legitimate way to stay informed. The other 20%

reported that they didn’t know. Although, more respondents reported being more satisfied with

the way reporting was done on political satire TV shows. Some studies say that political satire is

the future of political reporting among young people, but a little over half of the students

surveyed at UNO might say differently.

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 3

Introduction

With the recent political climate, some college students have decided to shed their blind

patriotism and pay more attention to what is happening in Washington D.C. (Parker, 2009).

Some ways of doing that is finding multiple news sources to learn from. “Fake” news or

Political Satire television shows are growing in popularity for a number of reasons, but mainly

because they look at what is happening in the world in a critical way and presenting to the

audience in a way they can understand (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007).

Since the internet picked up in popularity in the 1990’s, not only has citizen journalism

has become popular, but it is easy to share ideas that people present to the public. That makes

people ask the question, “who is considered a journalist today?” Under a new broad definition of

journalism, hosts of political satire shows can be considered journalists (Borden, 2007). Studies

on political satire also share how it makes you think critically about what our leaders in

government are doing (Harrington, 2012; Reilly, 2012). Many studies believe that these shows

are bringing us into a new era of political journalism (Baym, 2005; Cosentino, 2012; Harington,

2012, Reilly, 2012).

There has been a lot of research to support the growth of popularity of these shows and

why they are beneficial, but the author could not find a research study that showed negatives of

“fake” news. That got the author of this study to ask the questions, “how do college students in

Omaha, Nebraska view political satire? Do more students turn to traditional news to learn

what’s going on, or do they go to political satire?”

The author thought that the results might vary on UNO’s campus. As a state, Nebraska

residents primarily lean right politically. Although, Omaha as a city primarily leans left

politically. UNO’s student population consists of students originally from Omaha and many who
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 4

come from out of town or state to study. Political satire TV shows seem to typically lean left,

and most of the students surveyed in this study agreed. UNO seemed like it would have a mix of

people who lean both conservatively and liberally. It is important to report how both sides of the

political spectrum feel about “fake” news and real news, both in a positive and negative light

because that is where other studies are lacking.

The purpose of this study is to see how students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha

perceive news presented on “fake” news or political satire shows (ex: The Daily Show) and

compare it to how they view real news.

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 5

Literature Review

“Fake” news versus Real News

Younger audiences are shying away from traditional news media and turning to satirical

political television shows as their main sources of news (Baym, 2005). Although who watches

these shows can be correlated with which young people have “constructive” or “blind”

patriotism. Constructive patriotism being people who actively question the government, and

blind patriotism being people who follow what government officials do without question.

(Parker, 2009). Studies explain what the differences are between “fake” news and real news

(Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007; Day, 2012; Reilly, 2012) and how these political comedies are

allowing people to critically analyze politics in ways traditional news cannot accomplish (Baym,

2005; Borden, 2007; Cosentino, 2012; Day, 2012; Reilly, 2012). In this case, “fake” does not

mean misleading or false. Instead it means defying tradition or a norm. “Fake” news is news

that isn’t presented in the typical format that is usual of national or local news stations.

Harrington, who writes about political comedy from an Australian perspective, claims that it is

more “transgressive TV” than “fake” news (Harrington, 2012).

Defining Journalism. The definition of “journalism” has broadened since the dawn of

the internet age. Ordinary people are creating blogs and reporting the news in their own ways.

The U.S. constitution supports the broad definition of “journalism” because free speech is a First

Amendment protected right (Reid, 2014). Hosts of fake news shows could be considered

journalists under the broad term of journalism, but some hosts, such as Jon Stuart from The Daily

Show, would like to be considered comics instead of journalists (Borden, 2007). There are many
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 6

differences between real journalists and fake journalists. According to Borden, two main

differences between real and fake journalism are gatekeeping and objectivity (Borden 2007).

Fake journalists are gatekeepers in the terms that they don’t edit out small pauses or

awkward moments in the soundbites or clips they select like real news stations do. They show

the audience unedited audio and video (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007). The other main difference is

that the hosts of fake news shows can have a subjective view, while traditional journalists need

to keep an objective view of what they are reporting (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007). This allows

fake news hosts to voice their opinion when they disagree with political figures or even real

journalists. They typically point out character flaws, but in a light-hearted manner (Baym, 2005;

Borden, 2007; Day, 2012). Traditional journalists also have to report in an unbiased manner, and

are expected to appear in a disciplined manner (Baym, 2005; Day, 2012).

There are other subtle differences between the two types of journalism in the way shows

gather and present their news. Fake journalists don’t go out and find their own news, they re-

report what real news has reported (Borden, 2007). Of the news they report, they don’t go into

detail about what they are reporting unlike traditional journalism. They just go through different

headlines (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007). Fake journalists also typically ask deeper questions to

the guests they have on their show (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007; Harington 2012). The way these

hosts ask questions allows for an open dialogue about politics that isn’t something typical of

traditional journalists (Baym, 2005; Borden, 2007).

New Age of Political Journalism. Traditional entertainment media used to shy away

from anything too serious or political, but the lines between serious and entertaining have begun

blurring together causing the audiences of satirical comedies to think in different ways about
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 7

politics (Harrington, 2012; Reilly, 2012). The hosts of these shows have been compared to

different philosophers, such as Aristotle, because they make people question what they see on the

news. The hosts enlighten their audiences so they don’t blindly follow like sheep (Saul, 2008).

The hosts are also political watchdogs who people seem to trust more during times of political

scandals (Casentino, 2012). By pointing out different flaws they see in political figures and

asking interview questions with sustenance, they are able to get their viewers to critically

evaluate those political figures or traditional news organizations (Baym, 2005; Reilly, 2012).

One study shows that people who actively watch political satire show an unrest with the

government and as a result become more politically involved (Lee, 2014).

Claims have been made that these fake journalists are reinventing political journalism

(Baym, 2005; Cosentino, 2012; Harington, 2012, Reilly, 2012). Audiences are drawn in with

humor because comedy humanizes political figures, but at the end of the show they leave

knowing more about what it happening in the world. Fake journalists are doing what real

journalists are failing to do; they are engaging their audiences in new and fun ways (Baym, 2005,

Borden, 2007). Not much research could be found on the negatives of people turning fake news

as their primary news source. Authors wrote in their articles that some have, “criticized it for

being inadequate” (Cosentino, 2012; Baym, 2005).

Conclusion

Fake journalism breaks away from the norm of traditional journalism. Soundbites go

unedited, flaws are pointed out, subjective views are said, and thought-provoking interview

questions are asked. Audiences, especially young adults, are turning to fake journalists as their

main source of news. Audiences are drawn to the comedic aspects of these shows, and because
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 8

of the way they are formatted, they are able to critically evaluate politics. Because of the way

that real news is presented, audiences don’t get as much opportunity to critically think about

what is being reported. In order to investigate further into real versus fake news and the

reimagining of political journalism, I propose these research questions:

RQ1: What percentage of college students turn to both traditional and “fake” media to

receive their news?

RQ2: Does political affiliation affect who watches more “fake” or real news?

RQ3: Do people who watch “fake” news have more political awareness than those who

just watch traditional news?

RQ4: What news mediums do UNO students use to stay up to date on American and

international politics?

RQ5: How important are American and international politics to UNO students?

RQ6: How do the opinions of the legitimacy of “fake” news or political satire vary based

on common demographic variables, including age, gender, college major, and class?

RQ7: What extent has social media helped spread opinions presented in “fake” news?
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 9

Methodology

Respondents

This study used a survey to assess how University of Nebraska at Omaha undergraduate

students perceived political satire television shows. Forty students (13 males and 27 females)

between the ages of 19 to 26, were surveyed over the course of three weeks. The students

chosen were, for the most part, people that the author of this study had come into contact with at

some point in time at UNO.

Non-traditional undergraduates over the age of 26 were excluded from the survey. Older

non-traditional students usually come from a different financial and social background then

traditional college students do. Although UNO has a large non-traditional student population,

the rise of traditional, incoming freshmen has increased significantly over the past ten years

alone. The University has shown this by constructing new dorms to accommodate the wait list

of new students wanting to live on campus.

The Questionnaire

The questionnaire used in this research was developed by the author. Throughout the

research process, the author formed Research Questions about “fake” news or political satire

television shows. Many of those questions were formed after initial research was complete and

qualitatively interviewing three respondents. The author took those seven research questions and

created 25 quantitative research questions for respondents to answer. A Copy of the

questionnaire is included in Appendix A.

Procedure

The author emailed the survey out to 95 UNO students. Out of those students, only 23

responded back. The author then reached out to fellow students that she worked with at UNO, in
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 10

person, and received 14 more completed surveys. The remaining three surveys were completed

after the author knocked on some doors in the dorms at UNO and asked residents to complete the

survey. During the initial distribution of the survey, there was an attempt made to send it out to

an equal number of males and females across over 30 majors at UNO.

In the survey document that was sent out to the recipients, above the beginning of the

survey was a message of informed consent for the participants to read. The message of informed

consent can be found in Appendix A as well. When a respondent emailed a survey back to the

author, the author would download and save the survey as “Survey Questionnaire #1-40.” The

author did not view the answers of the respondents until data compilation commenced.
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 11

Results

For this survey, 67.5% of the respondents were female and 32.5% were male. As for

political affiliations, 17.5% identified as Republican, 40% as Democrat, and 42.5% as

Independent. For financial class, many students claimed the financial class their parents were in.

No one was in the upper class, 7.5% were in the upper middle class, 55% were in the middle-

middle class, 35% were in the lower middle class, and 2.5% were on or below the poverty line.

23 college majors were represented in the survey. 27.5% of those students were in some sort of

communication major. The other top two majors represented were Criminology/Criminal Justice

and Elementary Education which both had 7.5%. Undergraduates between the ages of 19 and 26

were surveyed. Of those students, 82.5% were between the ages of 19 and 22. Only 17.5% of

the respondents were between the ages of 23 and 26.

RQ1 asks which type of news do college students prefer, real news or political satire. If

college students had to choose between the two, 40% said they would choose political satire and

52.5% said they would choose real news. 7.5% wrote in that they would choose both forms.

When asked which of the two they typically turn to, 12.5% said political satire, 50% said real

news, and 37.5% said a mix of both. 60% of college students believe that real news more

accurately reports what is going on in the world, while 20% believe political satire does. The

other 20% marked they didn’t know. When prompted to choose their top three most legitimate

news media for staying informed, traditional TV news (ex: ABC, NBC) ranked first, followed by

Local News, then Mainstream newspapers. 40% of students believe that political satire is a

legitimate way to stay informed about the news, while 40% believed it wasn’t. The remaining

20% did not know.

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 12

RQ2 asks if political affiliation affects who watches more real or “fake” news. 82.5% of

respondents believe that political satire TV shows lean in a liberal direction, while 10% said it

was more conservative. 7.5% said it does not lean. The graph below shows how satisfied the

respondents were with the reporting of real and “fake” news.

Satisfaction in Reporting
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very I don't know
unsatisfied

Real News Political Satire

Although more respondents were satisfied with the reporting done on political satire TV shows,

more people believed there was a biased which is shown in the graph below.

Biased in Reporting
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Not as all biased Slightly biased Somewhat biased Very biased Extremely biased

Real News Political Satire

RQ3 asks if college students who watch more political satire have more political

awareness than those who don’t. When students were asked about how much they knew about

national and international politics, 45% said they had average knowledge about national politics

and 35% about international politics. Only 2.5% said they were very knowledgeable in both.
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 13

RQ4 and RQ5 asks how important are national and international politics to college

students and how do they stay informed about both. Of the students surveyed, 57.5% spend

between 0-2 hours a week trying to stay informed about American politics, while 77.5% of them

said they spent the same amount of time trying to stay informed about international politics. 5%

of the respondents said they spend 9 or more hours a week trying to stay informed of national

and international politics. Most of the respondents said that they mainly use social media to stay

up to date on national and international politics. The other top two ways they stay informed are

television and newspapers.

RQ6 asks how opinions of “fake” news vary based on demographics. The demographic

information of the respondents was discussed earlier in this chapter.

RQ7 asks how social media spreads opinions presented in “fake” news. Of the

respondents, 67.5% of them said they watch between 0-4 political satire shows or clips a week.

22.5% said they watch between 5-9, and the remaining percent said 15-20+. 97.5% of the

respondents believe that social media plays a role in how opinions presented in political satire

are spread. The other 2.5% believed it to be false. 60% believed that people watch most clips of

political satire clips shared on social media, while the other 40% did not.
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 14

Discussion

There hasn’t been much published research that is specifically aimed at college students,

so that makes it difficult to compare this research and research that has already been done. Some

of the research that has been done just claims that “young people” in general are turning away

from traditional news and watching more political comedies (Baym, 2005). As the results of this

research shows, that is not the case for college students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Over half of the students said they would rather turn to traditional news media to receive

information over “fake” news.

College students report having a higher satisfaction rate in the way they report

information on political satire shows than they do with the reporting on real news. They also

admit that political satire has more of a biased in reporting than real news though. This could

relate back to the current political climate in America and President Trump calling real news,

fake news. People may trust political satire shows more during this time because they are

political watchdogs who sort through all the information about a topic to report it (Casentino,

2012).

One question that almost all the respondents agreed on was the fact that social media

helps spreads the opinions presented on political satire shows (97.5% agreed). The majority also

thought that political satire clips get more clicks and are watched more than real news clips

online. This could be contributed to the fact that most of the respondents said they receive a lot

of their news from social media. None of the journals I found had done any hard research on

social media and political satire.

Over 70% of the surveyed admitted to having average to not too much knowledge about

national and international politics and only spend 0-2 hours trying to stay informed about
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 15

international politics a week (57.5% reported spending the 0-2 hours staying informed about

national politics). One could argue that this could be attributed to whether or not the respondents

have constructive or blind patriotism. If the respondents are more blind patriots, they trust that

the government is doing what is best for American citizens. They might not spend as much time

trying to stay informed politically as constructive patriots do. (Parker, 2009).

The definition of journalism has expanded in past years to include many more people

than it originally did (Reid, 2014). Under this broad definition, hosts of political satire shows are

considered journalists. Of the surveyed, it was split at an even 40% - 40% of those who thought

political satire was a legitimate way to stay informed or not. Some of those who would still

rather watch real news over political satire still recognized political satire as a way to stay

informed. Some cause for that could be that those people think it’s good that some people stay

informed at all and one of the ways they do that is through political satire because it’s funny and

engaging (Baym, 2005, Borden, 2007).

A reason for saying that political satire is not a legitimate way to stay informed could

attribute to the political leaning and biases that it holds. 82.5% of the respondents believe that

political satire leans in a liberal direction. Unlike traditional journalists who have to report in an

unbiased manner, “fake” news journalists can report their subjective views on topics (Baym,

2005; Borden, 2007). Because of this, respondents could have been more swayed to say that it is

not a legitimate way to stay informed. They could carry the same view that some other

researchers reported in their findings of some saying that “fake” news is inadequate (Cosentino,

2012; Baym, 2005).

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 16

Conclusion

Research predicts that political satire is the future of political journalism and that more

young people are turning to that over real news, especially with the political climate of recent

years. That does not seem to be the case everywhere though. The author’s research shows about

60% of the students surveyed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha would rather get their

news from traditional news sources even though they show more dissatisfaction in the way that

reporting is done on real news channels is done.

Some of the limitations and weaknesses of the research include the pool of students who

were surveyed. It was not truly a random sample because everyone surveyed, except for two

people, were students that the author of this study knows in some way. Also, about 25% of them

were students in the communication field. This could have skewed the data because many of

those students are studying to be in a news related field. Another weakness in this research is

that it is too broad. The author chose too many research questions to try and answer which

resulted in a results and discussion section that was “a mile wide and an inch deep.” In the future

someone could take one or two of my research questions and go into more detail and research for

those specific research questions.

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 17

Works Cited

Baym, G. (2005). The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and the Reinvention of

Political Journalism. Political Communication, 22(3), 259-276.

doi:10.1080/10584600591006492

Borden, S. L., & Tew, C. (2007). The Role of Journalist and the Performance of

Journalism: Ethical Lessons from "Fake" News (Seriously). Journal of Mass Media

Ethics, 22(4), 300-314. doi:10.1080/08900520701583586

Cosentino, G. (2012). The Comical Inquisition: Striscia la Notizia and the Politics of

Fake News on Italian Television. Popular Communication, 10(1/2), 52-65.

doi:10.1080/15405702.2012.638570

Day, A., & Thompson, E. (2012). Live From New York, It's the Fake News! Saturday

Night Live and the (Non)Politics of Parody. Popular Communication, 10(1/2), 170-182.

doi:10.1080/15405702.2012.638582

Harrington, S. (2012). From the “Little Aussie Bleeder” to Newstopia: (Really) Fake

News in Australia. Popular Communication, 10(1/2), 27-39. doi:10.1080/15405702.2012.638571

Lee, H., & Kwak, N. (2014). The Affect Effect of Political Satire: Sarcastic Humor,

Negative Emotions, and Political Participation. Mass Communication & Society, 17(3), 307-328.

doi:10.1080/15205436.2014.891133
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 18

Parker, M. R., Foster, L. N., et al. (2009). Relationship of College Students' Patriotism to

use of Specific New Sources and Knowledge of Current Political Events. Journal Of Political &

Military Sociology, 37(2), 205-226.

Reid, B., & Gibson, S. (2014). Fake News and the First Amendment: A Developing

Standard. Insights to A Changing World Journal, 2014(3), 3-15.

Reilly, I. (2012). Satirical Fake News and/as American Political Discourse. Journal of

American Culture, 35(3), 258-275. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.2012.00812.x

Saul, MaryLynn. (2008). The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of

Fake News. Journal of Popular Culture, 41(4), 737-739.

 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 19

Appendix A

My name is Carrie Bartholomew. I’m a student in a Media Research class at UNO. The purpose
of this survey is to learn more about college students’ opinions on “fake” news or political satire
TV shows (ex. The Daily Show, Last week Tonight) over real or traditional news (ex. CNN).

By answering the questions below, you freely agree to participate in this study for a class
project in Media Research. Your participation is voluntary and you may quit the survey at any
time. The survey will be kept confidential. This information will be used for a class assignment
only.

If you have questions or concerns about the study, please feel free to contact me at
cebartholomew@unomaha.edu

PLEASE HIGHLIGHT YOUR ANSWER AND WRITE IN WHEN APPROPRIATE

PLEASE EMAIL THIS DOC BACK TO ME

Please answer these questions truthfully and to the best of your ability.

1. In a typical week, how much time do you spend trying to stay informed on the state of
American politics?
A. 0-2 hours B. 3-5 hours C. 6-8 hours D. 9+ hours

2. In a typical week, how much time do you spend trying to stay informed on the state of
international politics?
A. 0-2 hours B. 3-5 hours C. 6-8 hours D. 9+ hours

3. How much would you say you know about national politics?
A. Very knowledgeable B. Quite a bit of knowledge C. Average knowledge
D. Not too much knowledge E. Almost no knowledge

4. How much would you say you know about international politics?
A. Very knowledgeable B. Quite a bit of knowledge C. Average knowledge
D. Not too much knowledge E. Almost no knowledge

5. Which news mediums do you use to stay up to date on national politics?

A. Newspapers
B. Radio
C. Television
D. Social Media
E. Other______________________ (Please specify)
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 20

6. Which news mediums do you use to stay up to date on international politics?

A. Newspapers
B. Radio
C. Television
D. Social Media
E. Other______________________(Please specify)

7. Do you think the reporting on political satire TV shows leans a certain direction politically?
A. Yes-liberal B. Yes-conservative C. No, it does not lean

8. If you had to choose between political satire TV shows (ex: Colbert Report) or real news (ex:
CNN) to stay up-to-date on the news, which would you choose?
A. Political Satire B. Real news C. Other________________________(Please
specify)

9. Which sources (Political Satire or Real News) do you typically turn to more to learn about the
news?
A. Political Satire B. Real news C. Both
D. Other______________________(Please specify)

10. Which form of news more accurately reports what’s happening in the world?
A. Political Satire B. Real news C. I don’t know

11. How satisfied are you with the reporting on “real” news segments?
A. Very Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Neutral D. Unsatisfied
E. Very Unsatisfied F. I don’t know

12. How satisfied are you with the reporting on political satire TV shows?
A. Very Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Neutral D. Unsatisfied
E. Very Unsatisfied F. I don’t know

13. How often, if at all, in a week do you watch political satire TV shows, or clips?
A. 0-4 B. 5-9 C. 10-14 D. 15-19 E. 20+

14. Social Media plays a role in how the opinions presented in political satire TV shows are
spread.
A. True B. False

15. You think people watch most clips of political satire TV shows they see “shared” on social
media to the end.
 Today’s News Presented by Political Satire 21

A. True B. False

16. Political satire clips shared on social media get more clicks than real news…
A. Always B. Almost always C. About the same
D. Almost never E. Never

17. Use the following list to rank the most legitimate news media for staying informed on
politics. Rank your Top 3 choices with 1 being the best choice, 2 for second best, and 3 for third
best.
____ Cable news channels (e.g. MSNBC, CNN, FOX)
____ Traditional TV news (e.g. CBS, NBC, ABC)
____ Mainstream newspapers (e.g. New York Times, Washington Post)
____ Local News (TV or newspapers)
____ Political satire TV shows (e.g. Colbert Report, ….)
____ Online news sites
____ News magazines (e.g. Time, Newsweek)

18. You consider political satire TV shows a legitimate way to stay informed about politics.
A. True B. False C. I don’t know

19.How biased do you think political satire TV shows are?

A. Not at all biased B. slightly biased C. Somewhat biased
D. Very biased E. extremely biased

20. How biased do you think “real” news is?

A. Not at all biased B. slightly biased C. Somewhat biased
D. Very biased E. extremely biased

21. What is your political affiliation?

A. Republican B. Democrat C. Independent
D. Other ________________(Please specify)

22. What is your gender?

A. Male B. Female C. Gender non-conforming

23. What is your financial class?

A. Upper Class B. Upper Middle class C. Middle-Middle Class
D. Lower Middle Class E. On or below the poverty line

24. What is your college major? ____________________________________________

25. What is your age? _______________