Well, once again, TIME has chosen not to honor Stephen by naming him to its actual “Most Influential” list (sigh). In an amusingly timed announcement, however, the Telegraph (UK) has named him to its list of the “50 Most Influential US Political Pundits” at the number 11 spot (the top ten will be announced tomorrow. From the Telegraph:
The 50 most influential US political pundits
By Toby Harnden, US Editor
Last Updated: 11:12AM BST 01/05/2008. . .
The Telegraph today unveils its list of the 50 most influential political pundits to help readers sort through whose opinions matter. These are the people who make voters sit up and take notice. They are the ones who political candidates and campaigns are constantly seeking to woo and influence. They include television presenters, newspaper columnists, bloggers and talking heads.
We considered the depth and reach of pundits – the weight given to their opinions and the distance their views travel. Those who appear in different media – print, electronically and via television and radio – lifted themselves higher.
. . .
11. STEPHEN COLBERT
It is often said that Fox’s Bill O’Reilly is the model for Stephen T Colbert, the self-indulgent, bombastic and inaccurate character who chairs the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
Colbert’s id has been described as a “well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot”. Through show’s the [sic] phony news and election coverage, his mainly young audience nonetheless feels it is getting the spiritual truth about the campaign.
Get the Telegraph’s selection criteria and links to the pundit lists here
Some of the comments to this list (expressing outrage at the inclusion of anyone remotely liberal) are hilarious … and a little sad. Still, as consolation prizes go, Stephen beating “Papa Bear Bill O’Reilly” in the rankings isn’t too shabby, right?
At any rate, I leave myself wondering whether I should change the tag on this post to say, “Who’s Honouring Stephen Now?”
Donna Brazile from last night’s show is #19. Nice!
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The Colbert Report’s official site is touting this in its “Crucial Colbert” box at the upper right —
“Stephen beats Bill O’Reilly on the UK Telegraph’s Influential Pundit list!”
Somebody’s proud!
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MSI wrote: “Some of the comments to this list (expressing outrage at the inclusion of anyone remotely liberal) are hilarious … and a little sad.”
This was one of my favorite comment from that web site- “In case you’re wondering why all the loony right-wing nutjobs are polluting your comments section, this was linked on Drudge.”
I guess that explains it. :-)
I am not happy that Time didn’t make Stephen an official Time 100 winner. After all, they did use the Rain/Colbert “feud” for publicity. Obviously, Stephen Colbert does have some influence.
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@ One of the Heroes:
Yah, any time I see a bunch of zany right-wing comments, I’ve started checking to see if the article in question was linked on Drudge. (And on that subject: the toss last night was hysterical.)
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LOL – The Italian newspapers are publishing articles about the Time 100, noting that they “forgot” the Pope! It’s left a few people wondering about the list.
I of course think the Pope and Stephen should be at the top of the list – they can alternate #1 and #2 every year.
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