Thursday, October 5, 2017

Satirical News

Satirical news and political satire are on the rise, especially among young people. When I watch satirical news it’s mostly for entertainment. My political satire of choice is Last Week Tonight with John Oliver because of its unique presentation. First of all, I don’t have to watch ads when I watch Last Week Tonight because it’s on HBO. What motivates me to watch it the most is that I really enjoy how in-depth John Oliver covers his weekly topics. I feel like I get a lot more information from Last Week Tonight than from any other news source, and I know I’m guaranteed a few good laughs along the way.

Why does Last Week Tonight differ so much from its competitors? A lot of it has to do with HBO’s Business Model. Traditional news outlets rely on advertisements for revenue, but HBO relies on its subscribers. This means that Last Week Tonight doesn’t face the same constraints on free speech and the First Amendment that its competitors in the news industry do. John Oliver can say whatever he wants and take whatever approach to “journalism” he wants. To gain a better understanding of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, I encourage you to watch his latest segment on network neutrality here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92vuuZt7wak

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