Abstract
In this paper we explore the creation of jokes told on late night talk shows targeted at major party nominees for president from 1992–2008. We hypothesize that the number of jokes told about candidates are related to variations in polling numbers, mainstream media coverage, and party identification of the candidates. Our results show a positive relationship between the number of jokes told at a candidate’s expense and the amount of negative news coverage about the candidate. In addition, we find that Republicans are targeted with more frequency than Democrats. Results suggest that favorability ratings and whether or not a presidential candidate is an incumbent has no effect on the number of jokes targeting a candidate.
About the authors
Dr Jody C. Baumgartner is the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor at East Carolina University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Miami University in 1998, specializing in the study of campaigns and elections. Since that time he taught at several institutions, but came to ECU in 2003. He has authored or edited 8 books and numerous journal articles, and book chapters, individually or in collaboration with others, on political humor, the vice presidency, and other subjects. Email: baumgartnerjo@ecu.edu
S. Robert Lichter is Professor of Communication at George Mason University, where he directs the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which conducts scientific studies of the news and entertainment media. He holds a PhD in Government from Harvard and has served on the faculties of Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Georgetown, and George Washington universities. He was also a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, and he received a Goldsmith Award from Harvard’s Kennedy School. His most recent book (with Jody Baumgartner and Jonathon Morris) is Politics Is a Joke!: How Late Night Comedians are Remaking Politics.
Jonathan S. Morris (Ph.D., Purdue University) is professor of political science at East Carolina University. His research focuses on the media and politics, including political humor, cable news, and political communication on social media. He is co-author of Politics is a Joke! How TV Comedians are Remaking Political Life, and has published in several journals, including Political Research Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Political Behavior, Social Science Quarterly, Political Communication, and Sociological Forum.
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