Big Think

Question: Are fake news shows effective?

Rob Huebel: I mean, those shows, the Daily Show and Colbert, I feel like are just bound for, like, legendary status, I mean, if they're not already. I'm just always blown away by stuff like that because it's so hard to say something relevant or something serious but, more importantly, to say something critical but to do it in a funny way, I mean, like, the fact that Colbert can do that night after night and, like, really, you know, go after the sort of bullshit, you know, aspect of politics and really sort of, like, you know, he's doing a character, which is really funny, but, at first, like, a lot of republicans didn't get it. They were, like, oh, this guy's awesome, man. This guy is talking to me. I love this guy. And then, I think, after that thing where he did the toast at the AP News thing, I think people were, like, oh, wait. Is this guy one of us? But, you know, they didn't catch onto it for awhile. But, yeah, I mean, I feel like both those shows, Daily Show, the fact that they are, you know, I think-- there are crazy statistics that, like, more young people get their news and information, like, from the Daily Show than any other news source. I mean, that's insane but awesome, you know, because they're getting, like, current relevant information but in a hilarious way, you know? Yeah, I feel like those shows are just doing something that's so hard to do and they do it so well, it always kills me.

Question: Does it make us laugh a little too hard?

Rob Huebel: No. I think, like, what the Daily Show does and what Colbert does is completely justifiable in the news world because, first and foremost, it's supposed to be a comedy show. It's not supposed to be a news show. I mean, yeah, there are real stories that are presented or, you know, bullet points of actual facts that are going on but that's supposed to be, more than anything, a comedy show. What's retarded to me is what's going on on, like, CNN where you watch that and it's, like, and they're trying to be funny now? Like, they're doing shows that are kind of funny? You know, in their reporting, it's more about, like, celebrities and entertainment and shit like that than-- where is their real news? Like, they're literally, in our country, there isn't any real news any more, like, there's not, you know? The Nightly News at 6:00 or 6:30, that's for old people. I mean, that's to sell advertising time for sleeping pills and adult diapers and stuff like that, you know? I mean, look at those commercials. So I feel like those stories are geared towards that. Like, other than, like, Frontline and, like, 60 Minutes, you know, CNN is a joke. It's a joke. You know, you really have to watch, like, BBC to know, like, if you watch BBC News, it's, like, oh, here's where the news is. This is real news. And it's totally solid and it's coming from another country. We don't do that, like, we can't, for some reason, do that. It doesn't sell commercials.

Recorded On: 4/1/08