Eat The Press

Colbert: Content for It-Getters

Jason Linkins |  Posted Friday April 20, 2007 at 04:09 PM

Remember back when The Colbert Report debuted, and the conventional critique was along the lines of, "Yeah, his whole FauxReilly schtick is funny, but how long can he milk it before it gets old?" Well, that sure seems quaint now. From that foundation of well-crafted schtick, Colbert has quietly gotten a handle on some key "Web 2.0" concepts, and, frankly, is harnessing them better than just about anyone else. Not bad for crusty old teevee!

First off, is there another media entity who's got better user generated content? In a word, no. And we're not just talking about the content provided for the show--like the hilarious green-screen mashups the show landed. User-generated content in the Colbertverse extends out beyond the screen, leaving pranky, Banksy-esque marks all over the world, in the form of defaced Wiki pages, hijacked Hungarian bridge contests, and annual report-strewn hockey arenas. It's become a vital part of the show--ColbertNation ready and willing to be the puckish id to their host's ballooning ego.

But even better, the people at The Colbert Report understand the concept of Event Content. Last night's metaphor battle with Sean Penn was a pretty good example in that it was well-promoted and continued the tradition of surprise (and surprisingly esoteric) guests. But a better example was last week's resolution to Colbert's Imus-like defaming of the Hungarians, in which Hungarian Ambassador Andras Simonyi came on the show to confront Colbert and lay down a few hot guitar licks. This was content with layers--simultaneously referencing the show's famous Decemberists "shred-off," the jacked Hungarian Bridge vote, and the grand tradition of Colbert receiving bizarre gifts for his mantel. Best of all, the moment was vital: not only satirizing the Imus flap, but writing a better ending to story which, in the real world, went on to fatigue the bejeezus out of everyone.

Peak content offerings, web-like referencing, harnessed users enhancing the overall work--these are the concepts that everyone is trying to master whereever new media is intersecting with old. It remains to be seen whether Colbert will emerge as some King Of All New Media, but one thing's certain: he sure gets it.