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On April 29, 2006, American comedian
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
appeared as the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, which was held in Washington, D.C., at the
Hilton Washington The Washington Hilton is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. The Washington Hilton, located on the former site of t ...
hotel. Colbert's performance, consisting of a 16-minute podium speech and a 7-minute video presentation, was broadcast live across the United States on the cable television networks
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
and
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
. Standing a few feet from U.S. President George W. Bush, in front of an audience of celebrities, politicians, and members of the
White House Press Corps The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, and members of the media usually assigned to the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the president of the United States, White House events, and news briefings. It ...
, Colbert delivered a controversial, searing routine targeting the president and the media. He spoke in the persona of the character he played on Comedy Central's ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'', a parody of conservative
pundits A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowle ...
such as Bill O'Reilly and
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
. Colbert's performance quickly became an Internet and media sensation. Commentators remarked on the humor of Colbert's performance, the political nature of his remarks, and speculated as to whether there was a cover-up by the media in the way the event was reported.
James Poniewozik James "Jim" Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote ''Time'' magazine's ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life ...
of ''Time'' noted that whether or not one liked the speech, it had become a "political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006—like whether you drive a hybrid or use the term '
freedom fries Freedom fries was a politically motivated renaming of French fries in the United States. The term was created in February 2003 in a North Carolina restaurant, and was widely publicized a month later when the then Republican Chairman of the C ...
.


Performance at the dinner

American comedian
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
was the featured entertainer at the
White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
Dinner, held at the
Hilton Washington The Washington Hilton is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. The Washington Hilton, located on the former site of t ...
hotel in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 2006. He was invited to speak by Mark Smith, the outgoing president of the White House Press Corps Association. Smith later told reporters that he had not seen much of Colbert's work. Since 1983, the event has featured well-known stand-up comics. Previous performances included President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
and
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
making fun of Ford's alleged clumsiness in 1975, and
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and Rich Little performing together in 1981. Colbert gave his after-dinner remarks in front of an audience described by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
as a "Who's Who of power and celebrity". More than 2,500 guests attended the event, including First Lady
Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...
, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...
, U.S. Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...
, China's Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong,
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
co-founder
Steve Case Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer ...
, model and tennis player
Anna Kournikova Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova ( rus, Анна Сергеевна Курникова, p=ˈanːə sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvnə ˈkurnʲɪkəvə, a=Anna_kournikova.ogg; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player and American televisi ...
, and actor
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...
. Colbert spoke directly to President Bush several times, satirically praising his foreign policy, lifestyle, and beliefs, and referring to his declining approval rating and popular reputation. Colbert spoke in the persona of the character he played on Comedy Central's ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'', a parody of a conservative pundit in the fashion of Bill O'Reilly and
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
. He began by satirizing
mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizati ...
, joking "If anybody needs anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers. Someone from the
NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collec ...
will be right over with a cocktail." While many of his jokes were directed at President Bush, he also lampooned the journalists and other figures present at the dinner. Most of the speech was prepared specifically for the event, but several segments were lifted—largely unchanged—from ''The Colbert Report'', including parts of the "
truthiness Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from i ...
" monologue from the first episode of the show, where Colbert advocated speaking from "the gut" rather than the brain and denounced books as "all fact, no heart". Colbert framed this part of the speech as though he were agreeing with Bush's philosophies, saying that he and Bush are "not brainiacs on the nerd patrol", implicitly criticizing the way Bush positioned himself as an anti-intellectual. Following this introduction to his style and philosophy, Colbert listed a series of absurd "beliefs that I live by", such as "I believe in America. I believe it exists." He alluded to outsourcing to China and satirized the traditional
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opposition to "
big government Big government is a pejorative term for a government or public sector that is considered excessively large or unconstitutionally involved in certain areas of public policy or the private sector. The term may also be used specifically in relatio ...
" by referring to the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. "I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq." Colbert then mocked Bush's sinking approval ratings: He continued his mock defense of Bush by satirizing Bush's appearances aboard the USS ''Abraham Lincoln'', at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center, and in cities devastated by
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
: Colbert ended the monologue specifically directed at Bush by parodying his energy policy. He then used Laura Bush's reading initiative as a springboard to mock-criticize books for being "
elitist Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constr ...
", and harshly criticized the
White House Press Corps The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, and members of the media usually assigned to the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the president of the United States, White House events, and news briefings. It ...
—hosts of the event—and the media in general. Addressing the audience, he remarked: Colbert also criticized the White House Press Corps for what was widely perceived as its reluctance to question the administration's policies, particularly in regard to the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying: For the remainder of his speech, Colbert joked about other people in the audience, including Peter Pace,
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
,
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
, and Joe Wilson. During this section, he made another reference to global warming while talking about interviewing
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
: "You can ask him anything, but he's going to say what he wants, at the pace that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is." Colbert received a chilly reception from the audience. His jokes were often met with silence and muttering, although some in the audience, such as Scalia, laughed heartily as Colbert teased them. This was in stark contrast to the warm reception accorded to a skit featuring Bush and his look-alike, Steve Bridges, which immediately preceded Colbert's monologue. At the end of his monologue, Colbert introduced what he characterized as an "audition" video to become the new White House Press Secretary—
Scott McClellan Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is the former White House Press Secretary (2003–06) for President George W. Bush, he was the 24th person to hold this post. He was also the author of a controversial No. 1 ''New York Times'' bestseller ...
had recently left the position. The video spliced clips of difficult questions from the White House press corps with responses from Colbert as Press Secretary. Colbert's podium included controls marked "Eject", "Gannon" (a reference to erstwhile White House reporter
Jeff Gannon James Dale Guckert (born May 22, 1957) is an American conservative columnist better known by the pseudonym Jeff Gannon. Between 2003 and 2005, he was given credentials as a White House reporter. He was eventually employed by the conservative web ...
, who was suspected of asking planted questions), and "Volume", which he used to silence a critical question from journalist David Gregory. The video continued with Colbert fleeing the briefing room and the White House, only to be pursued by White House correspondent
Helen Thomas Helen Amelia Thomas (August 4, 1920 – July 20, 2013) was an American reporter and author, and a long serving member of the White House press corps. She covered the White House during the administrations of ten U.S. presidents—from th ...
, who had been a vocal critic of the Bush administration. At one point, Colbert picks up an emergency phone and explains that Thomas "won't stop asking why we invaded Iraq". The dispatcher responds with, "Hey, why ''did'' we invade Iraq?" The entire second half of the video is a spoof of horror film clichés, particularly the film ''
Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
'', with melodramatic music accompanying Thomas's slow, unwavering pursuit of Colbert, and Colbert loudly screaming "No!" at intervals. Widely available online, a portion of the mock audition tape aired on ''The Colbert Report'' on May 2, 2006. Although President Bush shook Colbert's hand after his presentation, several of Bush's aides and supporters walked out during Colbert's speech, and one former aide commented that the President had "that look that he's ready to blow". Colbert recalled that "not a lot of people laughed in the front row" during the speech, and that "when it was over, no one was even making eye contact with me ... no one is talking to me in the whole damn room"; only Scalia came to him afterward, praising Colbert's imitation of a gesture the justice had recently been photographed making. He also noted actor
Harry Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series '' Doll ...
gave him props afterwards.


Early press coverage

Cable channel C-SPAN broadcast the White House Correspondents' Dinner live, and rebroadcast the event several times in the next 24 hours, but aired a segment that excluded Colbert's speech. The trade journal ''
Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...
'' was the first news outlet to report in detail on Colbert's performance, calling it a "blistering comedy 'tribute that did not make the Bushes laugh. The reviewer noted that others on the podium were uncomfortable during the speech, "perhaps feeling the material was a little too biting—or too much speaking '
truthiness Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from i ...
' to power". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' covered the dinner, but not Colbert's remarks. The wire services
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
and the Associated Press each devoted three paragraphs to discuss Colbert's routine in their coverage of the event, and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' mentioned Colbert several times throughout its article. The most extensive print coverage came from ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', which dedicated more space to Colbert's performance than to President Bush's skit. The day after the dinner,
Howard Kurtz Howard Alan Kurtz (; born August 1, 1953) is an American journalist and author best known for his coverage of the media. Kurtz is the host of Fox News's '' Media Buzz'' program, the successor to ''Fox News Watch''. He is the former media writer f ...
played clips of Colbert's performance on his CNN show '' Reliable Sources.'' On the Fox News show ''
Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...
'', the hosts mentioned Colbert's performance, criticizing him for going "over the line".
Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016. Carlson began ...
, a frequent target of ''The Colbert Report'' before and after the event, criticized Colbert as being "unfunny" on his MSNBC show '' Tucker''. Much of the initial coverage of the event highlighted the difference between the reaction to Bush and Bridges (very positive) and that for Colbert (far more muted). "The president killed. He's a tough act to follow—at all times," said Colbert. On his show, Colbert joked that the unenthusiastic reception was actually "very respectful silence" and added that the crowd "practically carried me out on their shoulders" even though he was not ready to leave. On the May 1, 2006, episode of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...
'', on which Colbert had formerly been a correspondent, host
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...
called Colbert's performance "balls-alicious" and stated, "We've never been prouder of our Mr. Colbert, and, ah—holy shit!"
Lloyd Grove Lloyd Bennett Grove is editor at large for ''The Daily Beast'', an American news reporting and opinion website focusing on politics and pop culture. He is also a frequent contributor to ''New York''. He was a gossip columnist for ''New York Daily ...
, gossip columnist for the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'', said that Colbert "bombed badly", and
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
founder Bob Johnson remarked, "It was an insider crowd, as insider a crowd as you'll ever have, and olbertdidn't do the insider jokes". ''
Congressional Quarterly Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...
'' columnist and
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
commentator
Craig Crawford Craig Crawford (born 1956) is an American writer and television political commentator based in Washington, D.C. Publisher of the news commenting forum, Trail Mix, Crawford was a columnist for ''Congressional Quarterly'', Editor-in-Chief of Nationa ...
found Colbert's performance hilarious, but observed that most other people at the dinner did not find the speech amusing. ''Time magazine'' TV critic James Poniewozik thought that Colbert's critics missed the point: "Colbert wasn't playing to the room, I suspect, but to the wide audience of people who would later watch on the Internet. If anything, he was playing against the room." Poniewozik called the pained, uncomfortable reactions to Colbert's jokes "the money shots. They were the whole point."


Allegations of a media blackout

Some commentators, while noting the popularity of Colbert's dinner speech, were critical of the perceived snubbing he was receiving from the press corps, even though he was the featured entertainer for the evening. ''The Washington Post'' columnist Dan Froomkin, calling it "The Colbert Blackout", lambasted the traditional media for ignoring Colbert while focusing on the "much safer" topic of President Bush's routine with Bridges.
Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...
of ''
Democracy Now ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' noted that initial coverage ignored Colbert entirely.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism ...
professor
Todd Gitlin Todd Alan Gitlin (January 6, 1943 – February 5, 2022) was an American sociologist, political activist and writer, novelist, and cultural commentator. He wrote about the mass media, politics, intellectual life and the arts, for both popular an ...
remarked, "It's too hot to handle. olbertwas scathing toward Bush and it was absolutely devastating. he mainstream media doesn'tknow how to handle such a pointed and aggressive criticism." Others saw no intentional snub of Colbert by the press. Responding to a question about why ''The Washington Post''s article about the dinner did not go into any detail about Colbert's speech, Media Backtalk writer Howard Kurtz responded, "The problem in part is one of deadline. The presses were already rolling by the time Colbert came on at 10:30, so the story had to be largely written by then." Asked why television news favored Bush's performance over Colbert's, Elizabeth Fishman, an assistant dean at the Columbia School of Journalism and a former ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...
'' producer, told MTV that the "quick hit" for television news shows would have been to use footage of Bush standing beside his impersonator. "It's an easier set up for visual effect", she noted. Steve Scully, president of the White House Correspondents' Association (which hosted the dinner) and political editor of C-SPAN (which broadcast the dinner), scoffed at the whole idea of the press intentionally ignoring Colbert: "Bush hit such a home run with Steve Bridges that he got all of the coverage. I think that exceeded expectations. There was no right-wing conspiracy or left-wing conspiracy." ''Time'' columnist Ana Marie Cox dismissed allegations of a deliberate
media blackout Media blackout is the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be voluntary, or may in some countries be enforced by the government or state. The latter case is controversial in ...
, because Colbert's performance received coverage in ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and the major wire services. Fellow commentator Kurtz concurred, noting that the video was carried on C-SPAN and was freely available online; he also played two clips on his own show. "Apparently I didn't get the memo," he said. In an article published on May 3, 2006, ''The New York Times'' addressed the controversy. The paper acknowledged that the mainstream media—itself included—had been criticized for focusing on Bush's act with Bridges while ignoring Colbert's speech. The paper then quoted several passages of Colbert's more substantial criticism of the president and discussed various reactions to the event. On May 15, ''The New York Times'' public editor,
Byron Calame Byron "Barney" Calame (born April 14, 1939, in Appleton City, Missouri) is an American journalist. He worked at ''The Wall Street Journal'' for 39 years, retiring as deputy managing editor in 2004. In 2005, he became the second public editor of ' ...
, wrote on his blog that more than two hundred readers had written to complain about the exclusion of any mention of Colbert from the paper's initial lengthy article covering the dinner. Calame quoted his deputy bureau chief in Washington, who said that a mention of Colbert in the first article could not have been long enough to do his routine justice. But he also noted that the paper should have printed an in-depth article specifically covering Colbert's speech in the same issue, rather than waiting until days after the fact.


Internet popularity

Even though Colbert's performance "landed with a thud" among the live audience, clips of Colbert at the dinner were an overnight sensation, becoming
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander H ...
s that appeared on numerous web sites in several forms. Sites offering the video experienced massive increases in traffic. According to
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
's News.com site, Colbert's speech was "one of the Internet's hottest acts". Searches for Colbert on
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...
were up 5,625 percent. During the days after the speech, there were twice as many
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
searches for "C-SPAN" as for "
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
"—an uncommon occurrence—as well as a surge in Colbert-related searches.
Nielsen BuzzMetrics Nielsen may refer to: Business * Nielsen Gallery, an American commercial art gallery * Nielsen Holdings, global information, data, and measurement company ** Nielsen Corporation, a marketing research firm ** Nielsen Audio, formerly Arbitron, whic ...
ranked the post of the video clip as the second most popular blog post for all of 2006. Clips of Colbert's comic tribute climbed to the number 1, 2, and 3 spots atop YouTube's "Most Viewed" video list. The various clips of Colbert's speech had been viewed 2.7 million times in less than 48 hours. In an unprecedented move for the network,
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
demanded that
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and iFilm remove unauthorized copies of the video from their sites.
Google Video Google Video was a free video hosting service launched by the multinational technology company Google on January 25, 2005. Similar to YouTube, this platform allowed video clips to be hosted on Google servers and embedded on to other website ...
subsequently purchased the exclusive rights to retransmit the video, and it remained at or near the top of Google's most popular videos for the next two weeks. Both ''
Editor and Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...
'' and ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...
'', which published extensive and early coverage of the Colbert speech, drew record and near-record numbers of viewers to their web sites. 70,000 articles were posted to blogs about Colbert's
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
of Bush on the Thursday after the event, the most of any topic, and "Colbert" remained the top search term at
Technorati Technorati was a search engine and a publisher advertising platform that served as an advertising solution for the thousands of websites in its network. Technorati launched its ad network in 2008, and at one time was one of the largest ad network ...
for days. ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' TV critic Doug Elfman credited the Internet with promoting an event that would have otherwise been overlooked, stating that "Internet stables for liberals, like the behemoth dailykos.com, began rumbling as soon as the correspondents' dinner was reported in the mainstream press, with scant word of Colbert's combustive address". Three weeks after the dinner, audio of Colbert's performance went on sale at the
iTunes Music Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...
and became the No. 1 album purchased, outselling new releases by the
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...
,
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, g ...
, and
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
. The CEO of Audible.com, which provided the recording sold at iTunes, explained its success by saying, "you had to not be there to get it". It continued to be a top download at iTunes for the next five months.


Response

Colbert's performance received a variety of reactions from the media. In Washington, the response from both politicians and the press corps was negative—both groups having been targets of Colbert's satire. The Washington press corps felt that Colbert had bombed. ''The Washington Post'' columnist Richard Cohen found that Colbert's jokes were "lame and insulting" and wrote that Colbert was "rude" and a "bully". Politician
Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat, Hoyer was first elected in a special election on May 19, 19 ...
felt that Colbert had gone too far, telling the newspaper ''
The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' that " ushis the President of the United States, and he deserves some respect". Conservative pundit Mary Matalin called Colbert's performance a "predictable, Bush-bashing kind of humor". Columnist Ana Marie Cox chastised those who praised Colbert as a hero: "I somehow doubt that Bush has never heard these criticisms before". She added, "Comedy can have a political point but it is not political action". On ''The Daily Show'', Jon Stewart remarked, tongue in cheek, "apparently olbertwas under the impression that they'd hired him to do what he does every night on television". While comics were expected to tell jokes about the administration, the 2006 dinner was held at a time when the relationship between the administration and the media was under great strain, and the administration was sensitive to criticism. Attorney and columnist
Julie Hilden Julie Cope Hilden (April 19, 1968 - March 17, 2018) was an American novelist and lawyer. Biography Hilden grew up in Hawaii and New Jersey. She graduated with a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard College, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M. ...
concluded that Colbert's "vituperative parody" might have been unfair under different circumstances, but noted that Bush's record of controlling bad press created a heightened justification for people to criticize him when they got the chance. Media Matters and ''Editor & Publisher'' came to Colbert's defense, calling his detractors hypocrites. They contrasted the critical reaction to Colbert to the praise that many in the press had for a controversial routine that Bush performed at a similar media dinner in 2004, where Bush was shown looking for WMDs in the
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped roo ...
and joking, "Those weapons of mass destruction must be somewhere!" and "Nope, no weapons over there!"
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
News Online columnist
Heather Mallick Heather Mallick (born 1959) is a Canadian columnist, author and lecturer. She has been a staff columnist for the ''Toronto Star'' since 2010, writing a news column on Saturday and on the opinion page on Monday and Wednesday. She writes about femi ...
wrote, "Colbert had the wit and raw courage to do to Bush what
Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
did to
Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
, murderer of
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. As the American media has self-destructed, it takes Colbert to damn Bush with devastatingly ironic praise." Comedian and eventual Democratic U.S. Senator
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
, who performed at similar dinners twice during the
Bill Clinton administration Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
, admired what Colbert had done. In its year-end issue, ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine described Colbert's performance as one of the most "brilliant" moments of 2006. ''Time'''s
James Poniewozik James "Jim" Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote ''Time'' magazine's ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life ...
noted that in the "days after Stephen Colbert performed at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, this has become the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006—like whether you drive a hybrid or use the term 'freedom fries. For the 2007 dinner, the White House Correspondents' Association brought back the less controversial Rich Little.
Arianna Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' Th ...
reported that Colbert told her he had specifically avoided reading any reviews of his performance, and remained unaware of the public's reaction. On June 13, 2007, he was presented with a
Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...
Guys' Choice Award for "Gutsiest Move". He accepted the award via video conference. Six months later, ''New York Times'' columnist
Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...
called Colbert's after-dinner speech a "cultural primary", christening it the "defining moment" of the United States' 2006 midterm elections. Three and a half years after the speech, Frank Rich referred to it again, calling it "brilliant" and "good for the country", while columnist
Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...
referred to it as "one of the things that kept people like me sane during the darkest days of the Bush years". The editor of ''
The Realist ''The Realist'' was a Humor magazine, magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad (magazine), ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and ...
'',
Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...
, later put Colbert's performance in historical context, saying that it stands out among contemporary US satire as the only example of the spirit of the satire of
Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...
,
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...
, and
Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
, which took risks and broke barriers to free speech, "rather than just proudly exercising it as comedians do now."


References


External links

* * {{Featured article 2006 in American politics 2006 in Washington, D.C. April 2006 events in the United States Criticism of journalism Roast (comedy) Stephen Colbert Viral videos Television controversies in the United States