© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bluster and Satire: Stephen Colbert's 'Report'

Comic and journalist Stephen Colbert is the former senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. And true to the industry he parodies, Colbert's incisive work has landed him in the anchor's chair on a show of his own: The Colbert Report.

Colbert, one of the most distinguished names in fake news, has won fans with a brand of reportorial analysis that may be described as fast-forward-thinking. The Colbert Report is modeled after other personality-driven news reviews — chief among them, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox's ratings behemoth starring Bill O'Reilly.

In a review in The New Yorker, Nancy Franklin wrote that Colbert "resembles nobody more than he does Bill O'Reilly, and like O'Reilly, he conveys fake humility and easy rage toward inappropriate targets."

Colbert began his comedy career with Second City in Chicago. He helped create the HBO sketch comedy series Exit 57 — which won five Cable ACE awards in 1995 — and he also wrote and performed sketches on The Dana Carvey Show. Colbert is also the voice of Ace on the Saturday Night Live animated skits Ace & Gary: The Ambiguously Gay Duo.

Copyright 2022 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.