Greater Prevalence of Author-Users

The articles I'll be referring to can be found here:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/increased-negative-campaigning-reveals-previously,30182/?ref=auto

http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/mon-october-8-2012-mark-kelly

These two articles are interesting primarily because they are alternate "news" sources. Likewise, they share a commonality in the sense that they use humor to disseminate information.

The first, from The Onion, is a quick, sarcastic remark of how campaigning is generally done via ill will and vicious attacks from one candidate to another. The second, an episode of The Colbert Report, highlights other sarcastic elements. Specifically, Colbert himself is a sarcastic representation of the popular (specifically right-wing) media.

Curiously, these two sources do not necessarily spew any new information. They merely spotlight and make fun of aspects of popular media. This is somewhat related to Finnegan's Recognizing Lincoln article, specifically the portion on enthymemes. Both mediums assume that the viewer has at least some understanding of the topics they are discussing. In the case of The Onion, it makes the assumption that its reader knows that political campaigning is an inherently filthy business. The Colbert Report assumes a bit more of its viewer, in that it covers a wider range of topics with much more detail.

This also can be linked to Warner's article on publics and counterpublics. The public that is highlighted by observing both of these mediums is that of one who is more or less politically informed, yet tired with the traditional news mediums. Thus, they turn to these alternate news "sources." This is a distinct shift from the traditional method of the news disseminator giving out information to be consumed, and nothing more.

This public is perhaps best evoked by its relative youth and probable liberalism. Yet, these concepts can be spread across a wide spectrum of people, thereby fulfilling Warner's requirements for a non-institutional group.

In addition to merely existing as a public, the group's behavior consists of consuming alternate news sources. We can observe this because The Onion and The Colbert Report are both popular enough to still be economically viable. The behavioral trend thus presents the idea that there is a demand for such alternative news sources. However, by the very nature of the sarcastic comedy used by these two mediums, the audience themselves become participants in the medium of their choice: they either laugh, or they don't.

This participation is an apparently growing trend that is very interesting and worth following.