New York Times omits Colbert at correspondents' dinner

Raw Story
May. 02, 2006

The New York Times' article Monday on the White House correspondent's dinner failed to include any mention of Stephen Colbert, the deadpan host of Comedy Central's Colbert report, RAW STORY has found.

In fact, the paper didn't mention the comic's appearance at the dinner at all. The discovery was first made by a diarist at Daily Kos.

According to Editor & Publisher, the comic's jokes left the President and First Lady unamused. The press, reports said, reacted uncomfortably to the stinging humorous attacks on the press and the Administration.

"Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, 'and reality has a well-known liberal bias,'" wrote Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp, who was at the dinner.

"He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," Strupp added. "'This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.'"

READ EDITOR & PUBLISHER'S FULL REPORT

READ ELIZABETH BUMILLER's NEW YORK TIMES REPORT