When the news is more than just a satirical joke

During former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s response to the State of Union speech last week, he said he was grateful for the endorsement of comedian Stephen Colbert because he wanted to keep the “youth-inspired vote.”

Cain said, “They’re not gonna go and watch the shows that some of us more mature people watch to find out what’s going on in the race ... they’re watching The Stephen Colberts.”

In an episode of “The Colbert Report,” Colbert responded, “Well said The Herman Cains! The more mature people watch other things. But the more immature youth vote watches this show.”

I realized Herman Cain had a point, he just happened to say it in a completely condescending way.

A majority of today’s youths get their news, especially news concerning politics, from political satire shows like Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show,” and “The Colbert Report.”

But, that doesn’t make us immature. In fact, it shows we are intelligent and informed enough to get the joke.

According to a Nielsen Media Research report from June 2011, “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” were the two most watched late-night talk shows for the second quarter.

“The Daily Show” averaged 2.2 million total viewers with approximately 1.3 million viewers ages 18 to 49.

“The Colbert Report” finished behind the “The Daily Show” with an average total of 1.5 million viewers. Of these viewers, 960,000 were ages 18 to 49.

Here’s the thing about these two satirical shows, while they may be humorous and off-the-wall, there’s always an intellectual point behind everything that is said.

And, that’s the hook.

In a world where news can be seen 24-7 on the Internet, television and cell phones, today’s youths are clamoring for an outlet where a news story can be understood in depth with humor added as an entertainment value.

Half the fun of Colbert’s “The Wørd” segment, which juxtaposes Colbert’s commentary with satirical bullet points on-screen, is following the commentary to see where it’s all leading to in the end with a current event or political point of view.

However, not every subject is pegged for comedy, such as when Jon Stewart had a round table of Sept. 11 first responders to discuss funding for medical expenses caused by debris and toxic chemicals.