--- title: Colbert More Informative Than News: Annenberg Study description: Colbert is more informative than journalists, per a study by The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. canonical: https://time.com/2819459/study-finds-watching-the-colbert-report-is-more-informative-than-watching-the-news/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-04T13:00:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:44.067Z og:title: Study Finds "The Colbert Report" Is More Informative Than Real News Channels og:description: Specifically regarding campaign finance and the politics of money og:url: https://time.com/2819459/study-finds-watching-the-colbert-report-is-more-informative-than-watching-the-news/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study Finds "The Colbert Report" Is More Informative Than Real News Channels twitter:description: Specifically regarding campaign finance and the politics of money twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Study Finds Watching _The Colbert Report_ Is More Informative Than Watching The News ## Video: The Best of Stephen Colbert [Watch (HLS stream): The Best of Stephen Colbert](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PNJDP9f3.m3u8) (4:30)  _Published 2014-04-10. The next host of_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 4, 2014 1:00 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 4, 2014 1:00 PM UTC [**The Colbert Report**](http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/) Get More: [Daily Show Full Episodes](http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/full-episodes/),[Indecision Political Humor](http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision),[The Colbert Report on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/thecolbertreport) Good news for Colbert Nation: People who watched _The Colbert Report_ during the last presidential election are more informed about campaign financing than people who watched other news channels, according to a study by the [Annenberg Public Policy Center](http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/stephen-colberts-civics-lesson-or-how-a-tv-humorist-taught-america-about-campaign-finance/) at the University of Pennsylvania. That’s because he made the issue a regular joke on the show and created a [Super PAC](http://swampland.time.com/2012/01/13/stephen-colbert-vs-the-supreme-court-testing-the-limits-of-super-pac-coordination/), a real-life example of how it works, the researchers argue. _The Colbert Report_ was compared to MSNBC, FOX News, CNN, and nightly network news shows, and the data is based on a phone survey of 1,232 adults 18 or older interviewed Dec. 13-23, 2012. The study was published online in [_Mass Communication and Society_](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15205436.2014.891138#.U4yEvnJdWZk). 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