Gutfeld! and the Audience for Late-Night Conservative Comedy

• In Event: Narratives from the Political Right

Abstract

From its earliest days, political humor frequently has offered an anti-authority message. The mocking of those with influence if not control over one's life can provide a cathartic release, a means of accepting one's own relative weakness within a given political or economic system. From court jesters to satirical writers to the comics working in the early days of film, the targets often were those in power, regardless of their ideological or partisan identities. A political humor that provides equal opportunity mockery fueled popular writers like Mark Twain, radio superstars like Will Rogers, and early filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin. In recent decades, political humor has grown far more partisan in its messaging, both on the left and the right.

This paper will focus on the commercially successful Gutfeld!, which first aired as a nightly humor show in April 2021 on Fox News, and its audience. The paper will use a new public opinion survey (now in the field) offers comparisons of the audiences for Gutfeld! as well as the program’s more liberal late-night competitors. The paper will examine questions of partisanship, ideology, political beliefs and other media consumption patterns as they relate to Gutfeld! and to other late-night humor programs.

Author

• Stephen Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington