Perceptions of Bias in Political Content in Late Night Comedy Programs

Politicians, scholars, and young viewers have been paying increased attention to political content in late night comedy over the past decade. Because young viewers seem to treat the content as a source of news, a survey examined perceptions of bias in comedy content as compared to those for mainstream, broadcast news. Political content in comedy programs was rated by respondents as more biased than such content in traditional news programs. Further, a hostile media effect was found for political content about three topics across five comedy shows, with republicans, democrats, and independents reporting significantly different perceptions of the extent of bias in the content.