Two Stories, Same Theory

Media Life, Nov. 30: “Perhaps viewers have grown tired of listening to the same aging comedians night after night. Or maybe they’re bored with softball celebrity interviews.

Whatever the reason, there’s been a shift in late-night viewing patterns this year away from traditional late-night comics and toward the news, whether it’s real or fake.”

NY Post, Dec. 4: “The beginnings of a social shift seems to be underway in late night TV — people are tuning away from traditional, joke-y talk shows like Leno and Letterman and turning more to news.

OK, it’s not always real news. But in the last year, the ratings for Nightline as well as fake-news shows The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are on the rise — and the talk shows are headed down.”