Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is a news satire television program which promotes the public sphere by approaching the audience as citizens who are urged to take action on national issues.

The public sphere is a space separate from the state where people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to debate about issues affecting society, thus promoting a democratic society and bringing about political change (Dahlgren cited in Butler 2012).

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American news satire television show broadcast on American cable television station HBO on Sundays at 11pm, and is hosted by British comedian John Oliver.

The news satire genre of television parodies the traditional news broadcast by satirizing its formal and aesthetic characteristics to highlight its inconsistencies and exaggerations (Painters & Hodges 2010).

Oliver satirizes the top news stories of the week, followed by unpacking a complex issue that is barely discussed on broadcast news. He spends an extended time explaining the issue in a simplistically yet not condescendingly manner, allowing viewers of any background to understand the issue being discussed, thus promoting a democratic public sphere.

Oliver addresses the audience with inclusive language like “us”, “we”, and “our” to make them feel that they are a part of the nation, urging them to take a stand on the issue. Oliver uses this approach in his segment in Season 2, Episode 23 on the lack of statehood in Washington D.C., saying that amending the Constitution for D.C.’s benefit is something “we could do.” Changing the American flag to include 51 states is something Oliver also suggests “we could do”, pointing to the image of the flag being used throughout his segment and informing viewers that it had been changed the whole time and remained unnoticed.

( Last Week Tonight, Season 2 Episode 23): http://edutv.informit.com.au.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/watch-screen.php?videoID=1011655

Oliver uses his “call-to-arms” approach combined with humour to demonstrate the absurdity of the issue (Halmore 2014). The ending musical number in which he sings his own version of the ’50 states’ song including D.C., with children, demonstrates this. It highlights how straightforward the inclusion would be, while urging the audience to demand political change for future generations. Viewers listened and on the 9th of August a demonstration was held at the U.S. Capitol building in which children and parents sung Oliver’s song, with the group promising further action.

(Last Week Tonight, Season 1 Episode 5).

Similarly, after Oliver’s report on net neutrality (Season 1, Episode 5), audiences listened to his guidance and flooded the Federal Communication Commission’s website to express their disapproval of changing laws around net neutrality which would prevent some people from access to high speed internet (Helmore 2014). Despite it being a national issue, it had barely been discussed in broadcast news. Oliver’s discussion on the issue allowed for a democratic public sphere as audiences were given the means to express their views.

Last Week Tonight has pushed the news satire genre from just commenting on current political issues, to treating viewers as citizens who want to make political change and know how to go about it with Oliver’s guidance (Helmore 2014).

Works Cited:

Butler, JG 2012, Television: Critical Methods and Applications, 4th edn, Routledge, New York, viewed 11 August 2015, EBSCOhost Database.

Helmore, E 2014, ‘How John Oliver Started a Revolution in US TV’s Political Satire’, The Guardian, 15 June, viewed 7 August 2015, <http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jun/15/john-oliver-started-a-revolution-in-us-tv-political-satire&gt;.

Painter, C & H, L 2010, ‘Mocking the News: How The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Holds Traditional Broadcast News Accountable’, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 257-274, viewed 7 August 2015, EBSCOhost Database.