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Late Night Shows Celebrate 'Off-Putting' DeSantis Ending Campaign

January 23rd, 2024 10:24 AM

The late night quintet spent their Monday shows celebrating the news that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has decided to drop out of the Republican primary by mocking his appearance and making fun of his Winston Churchill blunder by claiming that is what happens when you “ban textbooks.”

Study

STUDY: 81% Of Late-Night Political Jokes Mocked Conservatives In 2023

January 5th, 2024 10:00 AM

Throughout all of 2023, the late night comedians told a total of 9,518 political jokes, and of these 7,729 or 81 percent were directed at someone or something on the right side of the political spectrum, an MRC study has found.

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Late-Night Comics: Colorado Kicking Trump Off 2024 Race Is SLAM DUNK!

December 21st, 2023 5:25 PM

On Wednesday night and overnight into Thursday, the three liberal network comedians working this week — CBS’s Late Show host Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon of NBC’s Tonight Show, and Seth Meyers of NBC’s Late Night — were bursting at the seams in excitement (as were their audiences) at Tuesday’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to throw Donald Trump off the 2024…

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Tonight Show Hypes 'Gender-Inclusive Beard Care'

December 8th, 2023 2:00 PM

Jimmy Fallon is the host of The Tonight Show on NBC, but Thursday’s show might as well have been one of those cable shopping shows where products that exist, but don’t need to are pitched to the audience. Specifically, Fallon welcomed the finalists of Netflix's Squid Games: The Challenge and took the occasion to have one of those finalists—Sam Lantz— hype his “gender-…

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Late Night Loves Trump and Santos Jokes, But Not Biden and Menendez

October 26th, 2023 10:00 AM

In the first three weeks after the writers’ strike, the late night joke tellers picked right back up where they left off: telling Trump jokes at the expense of almost everything else, including comedy gold mines in Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption scandal and Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling a Congressional fire alarm, a NewsBusters study has found. At the same time, jokes about Republican…

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'Almost Crossed The Picket Line,' Comedy Hosts Cheer Trump Indictments

October 3rd, 2023 10:35 AM

The men of late night returned from the writers’ strike on Monday and other than CBS’s Stephen Colbert no longer censoring Donald Trump’s name, not much changed as the hosts were eager to get back to their Trump jokes.

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O'Brien: Trump And Liberal Reaction To Him 'Hurt Comedy'

September 13th, 2023 2:45 PM

As the late night comedy shows remain on strike, former late night host Conan O’Brien joined Kara Swisher of New York Magazine on her podcast to discuss the future of the format. During their long discussion, O’Brien argued that Trump and the angry reaction to him from current comedy hosts “hurt comedy.”

Study

Good Riddance: 95% of Late Night ‘Comedy’ Show Guests Are Liberals

May 19th, 2023 9:00 AM

With the Writers Guild of America going on strike, it is likely that America has seen the last of the first half of 2023’s late night comedy shows. Whether America wants them to return is another question as 95 percent of their guests were liberal, a NewsBusters study has documented.

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Late Night Responds To Carlson, Lemon With 16x As Many Carlson Jokes

April 25th, 2023 11:37 AM

The Monday news media news surrounding Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon provided the late night comedy shows a golden opportunity to show they aren’t just liberal partisans. However, they would fail this test as individual jokes about Carlson outnumbered jokes about Lemon 32-to-2 with five additional jokes about both men.

NewsBusters Podcast: Hunter Biden Scoops, Michelle Obama's 'Epic' Goop

April 21st, 2023 10:48 PM

Surprise! Stories broke about the Hunter Biden investigation this week, and some networks actually covered them for a bit. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama drew typical goop about her "epic lines" and whether she would please her superfans by running for president someday.

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Fallon Fawns Over Michelle Obama and Her 'Epic' 'We Go High' Line

April 20th, 2023 1:33 PM

Former First Lady Michelle Obama reignited her book tour on Wednesday as she stopped by NBC’s The Tonight Show for an interview with host Jimmy Fallon, who was espicially interested in one specific chapter.

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'Merry Christmas,' Late Night Hosts Celebrate Trump's Indictment

March 31st, 2023 10:39 AM

For the late night comedy show hosts and their audiences, the Thursday indictment of former President Trump was more of a chance to enjoy a cathartic experience than anything else. However, buried beneath their joy was the sense that they haven’t completely thought through the ramifications.

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Comedy Shows Accuse 'Fascist' DeSantis Of Banning History

March 1st, 2023 3:26 PM

CBS’s Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers all spent part of their Tuesday shows falsely claiming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seeks to ban the teaching of history in the state as they reacted to different parts of the DeSantis-driven news cycle.

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'Stay in Your Lane!' Late Night Downplays DOE's Lab Leak Conclusion

February 28th, 2023 10:26 AM

Monday provided the late night comedians their first opportunity to react to the Wall Street Journal’s reporting that the Department of Energy has concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic began as a lab leak. Of those who covered the story, most dismissed it due to the DOE having “low confidence” in its conclusion.