ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on results of a new content analysis project that examined the jokes aired by late-night comics, using two different studies of late-night humor conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) of George Mason University. For the primary campaign, it examines 2,854 jokes that targeted political figures, whether or not they were running for president, from September 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016, by which time it had become clear which candidates were going to be Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. The chapter also examines the subjects of the 3,008 jokes that focused on the two presidential nominees between September 1, 2015 and November 11, 2016, a few days after the presidential election. To illustrate the significance of the data, it also examines the ways in which late-night comics have increasingly shaped political discourse over the past several decades.
