Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Can comedy be news?
In August 2020, Mayor of the city of Danbury America, Mark Boughton announced plans to rename the town’s sewer plant as the ‘John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant’ in retaliation for remarks Oliver had previously made mocking Danbury
Reading the news tends to be more of a grim affair than not, chances are, you get at least some of your news directly from professional comedians rather than your average journalist. The hosts of these shows make a concerted effort to make their comedy more informative and politically engaged, one could easily make the case that they are pitching themselves as an alternative to cable/mainstream news.
Jon Stewart threw the first pebble that would lead to an eventual avalanche. 'A Closer Look' the segment from Late Night with Seth Meyers consistently gets way more views than any of their other digital content. Stephen Colbert once famously formed an American SuperPac on live TV with a lawyer walking them through the steps.
News from these public figures feel more authentic to the viewers, or perhaps they just like it more. You can interpret the numbers according to your worldview, it matters not.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
John Oliver is perhaps the apex of this particular mix of infotainment. Unlike the aforementioned shows; Last Week Tonight is straight up investigative journalism (John Oliver himself would repudiate this claim), with a couple of jokes and absurd antics thrown in.
Oliver began hosting the weekly in 2014, late-night talk show that takes a satirical look at politics. But the show isn't shackled to current events and is unafraid to shine the light on things that aren't in the zeitgeist. Oliver attributes this to the full creative freedom, including free rein to criticise corporations, granted by HBO's ad-free subscription model.
The show and his work led to Oliver being named Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People' in 2015. The show continues to receive widespread critical and popular recognition, whose influence over US culture, legislation, and policymaking has been dubbed the 'John Oliver effect'.
Till date the show has won thirteen Emmys and two Peabody Awards. You would be hard pressed to find a legacy journalist with such effect and popularity. Ronan Farrow doesn't count.
All of these awards pale in comparison to the sheer gall, absurdity and money he has spent on 'trolling' as the kids call it.
Oliver founded and legally incorporated a church, 'Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption' to expose how easy it is to gain tax exempt status in the United States based on nonsense theology.
In May 2018, Maximus Decimus Meridius (or Russel Crowe if you insist) shared a video alongside the family of the late Steve Irwin explaining that they'd named a veterinarian ward 'The John Oliver Koala Chlamydia Ward.'
In August 2020, Mayor of the city of Danbury Connecticut, Mark Boughton announced plans to rename the town's sewer plant as the 'John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant' in retaliation for remarks Oliver had previously made mocking Danbury.
He has openly mocked presidents, CEOs and royalty, but backed it up with the research acumen and a measured, granular approach to detail.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is one of the best news shows out there. Google 'The John Oliver effect' and you will see the long list of legislative and socio-political changes he and his team has achieved. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have ushered in the age of the 'Fifth Estate'. There is no turning back now, but maybe, John Oliver is showing us the way forward.
