Colbert Nationalism
Stephen Colbert apologizes for inadvertently informing his viewers better than cable news
Colbert Report
Stephen Colbert doesn't like to toot his own horn, he informed viewers on Wednesday night's Colbert Report, because "as a Catholic, I was taught that self-tooting is a sin." But he's not above highlighting when someone else is singing his praises, and so he touted a study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, which found that Colbert Report viewers are better informed about "wonky" things like campaign finance reform than watchers of every other news organization.
Colbert explained his secret, and offered some advice — I can't print his "salty" suggestion to Fox News — but instead of reveling in his coup, Colbert apologized. His promise to viewers, he said, has always been to "feel the news at you," not teach. "Clearly, I must work harder at informing you less," he concluded, and he has good role models. The best part is, right before this segment, Colbert had a hilarious and very informative segment on Amazon's battle with publisher Hachette. Better luck next time? --Peter Weber