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Satirical news programs offer a new and refreshing spin on the direct informative news, which usually is scheduled in primetime spots daily.
Shows such as Last Week Tonight With John Oliver throw the viewer interactively into the realm of the current events, and rather than report the issue to the audience, it invites them to explore it along side the host, opting for a typically more interactive and easier viewing.

There are both similarities and vast differences between the traditional news programming, and its satirical counterpart.
Both explore news pieces, informing audiences of the world around them, while also, operating with a host in order to report on various current events.

A difference in network scheduling sees a divide in the target audience however, as the 6pm standard news remains something that is accessible for entire families. While satirical news programs typically are seen to be scheduled later in the evening. This also creates a divide in what and how the two are able to report on subject matter.
Satirical News is able to take a more relaxed approach both with the language used and the way in which they report current events. An example of this can be seen within Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’s; Government Surveillance episode. The episode aired on April 5th 2015, explores the way in which the government is able to survey American citizens under the current Patriot Act, which was due to it come up for renewal.
The exploration of this news segment while also riddled with humour, is juxtaposed with a news piece from 2013, of Edward Snowden leaking documents from the National Security Agency.
In doing this the team behind Last Week Tonight took to the public, directly engaging with them questions which would go on to compliment the subject of their program. The program also sent host John Oliver over to Russia to conduct an interview directly with Edward Snowden himself, adding weight to the program and enticing audiences to continue to engage with it.
Informing viewers through Snowden, the various breeches of privacy by the American governments under-workings, Last Week Tonight alerted audiences to the importance of adding their own weight in on the matter of the Patriot Act.

This is a common technique of satirical news programs, drawing on other relevant events in order to engage, both humorously and informatively audiences on various levels, rather than directly reporting the issue. Through carefully constructing other relevant pieces to tie in with the overruling news, satirical programs are able to reach a level of audience engagement, which the 6pm direct news is unable to.
While scheduling is on the side of direct news reporting methodologies, such as Nine News, news programming within the satirical genre wins out, in the means of engagement and providing an informative background.
Rather than reporting to the audience direct grabs of news, they engage with it, informing viewers of background information and thus inviting them to weigh in on the topic, while keeping them humorously entertained each step of the way.