The Media Research Center was more than happy to see Stephen Colbert’s show end, and that was made abundantly clear during the show’s final week of broadcasts. Comedy cop Alex Christy served up a parade of supposed horribles in a May 19 post:
CBS is canceling The Late Show after the conclusion of Thursday’s episode. Since 2015, The Late Show has been hosted by Stephen Colbert, who by the time Thursday comes around will have hosted 1,801 episodes of the show that began under David Letterman in 1993.
Colbert’s tenure will be remembered for its partisan agenda of attacking Republicans and elevating Democrats. NewsBusters has compiled the following video montage and 39 quotes to show off some of the lowlights of the past 11 years.
Of course, Christy thinks any humor that doesn’t fall into the Trump Regime Media pattern is automatically, and indeed, most of his examples show Colbert criticizing Trump.
Curtis Houck spent a May 21 post complaining that another network paid tribute to Colbert:
Surprisingly, NBC’s Today was the only lead broadcast network morning news show to embarrass itself on Thursday by mourning the “end of an era” with the last episode of CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert set to air hours later, fretting there will no longer be a show helmed by the “devout Catholic” with “trailblazing format” that’s become defined by “politically charged humor” and a “critical eye toward President Trump.”
How much did NBC love Colbert and The Late Show? They teased a preview of this “end of an era” and co-host Craig Melvin’s sit-down with original host David Letterman an astounding seven times.
After reacting to co-host Craig Melvin’s commencement address at Villanova, Carson Daly said college graduates “aren’t the only ones preparing for a brand new chapter…because tonight marks the end of an era in late-night when Stephen Colbert signs off and The Late Show comes to a close after more than 30 years on the air.”
[…]Back live with the co-hosts, Savannah Guthrie nauseatingly reminded viewers a pope appearance would be great since “Stephen is a devout Catholic” and that it was great “Jimmy [Fallon] and Jimmy [Kimmel] on NBC and ABC are not doing live shows tonight, I think.”
“Yeah, that is sort of reference to let their encourage their audiences to watch the final show as well,” Daly replied.
[…]The next time the working class is sold out, a conservative icon passes away, or something of the sort, remember the groveling nonsense the liberal, elite media put forth when the antagonistic, partisan, and vile Colbert went off the air.
The MRC’s nepo-baby leader ran to a right-wing radio show to complain about Colbert:
Late-night television bid farewell to Stephen Colbert on Thursday as CBS aired the final episode of The Late Show. On WMAL, host Derek Hunter discussed the exit with David Bozell, president of the Media Research Center (MRC), the organization that tracked and documented the show’s sharp leftward turn for years.
Bozell noted the irony of MRC’s viewership: “There are dozens of us, dozens… That’s us, the MRC Watchdogs. We’re the only guys watching them.”
Hunter asked whether Colbert, Donald Trump, or broader cultural shifts killed late night. Bozell pointed to a mix of factors but placed significant blame on Colbert’s tone:
[…]Bozell said The Late Show might have survived in the digital age if Colbert had brought on guests with wider audience appeal. Instead, Colbert doubled down, even as CBS gave him a lengthy runway to exit.
Bozell apparently did not mention the role President Trump played in Colbert’s cancellation — specifically, the fact that CBS cancelled his show at the same time it paid Trump a settlement in a lawsuit he filed and was seeking his administration’s approval for a merger.
Tim Graham had his own Colbert complaint on his May 21 podcast:
Finally, the Los Angeles Times made fools of themselves in getting into a lather over the end of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show on CBS. The TV critic’s headline was “We will miss the divine and very human ministry of Stephen Colbert.” It’s hard to miss that this hints at comparing the comedian to the divinity and humanity of Jesus.
It seems that Graham is the one making a fool of himself by being so angry about Colbert.