'The duty of comedy is to amuse men by correcting them': Analyzing the value and effectiveness of using comedy as an informational tool.

摘要

Often in today's culture, individuals seek information from comedy sources. From cable television programs to Internet sources, as well as interpersonal communication, the role and prominence of comedy content as a vehicle for news and information has been steadily growing throughout the past decade. Throughout my research I look into the communication areas of news---specifically political news---and education to determine the effectiveness and value of using comedy to convey information. Employing secondary analysis research, communication theory investigation, research in two elementary school classrooms, an online survey, and interviews with prominent members of communication industries, I look into questions of how and why humor is an effective method for conveying information. Among the research findings are that the power of the joke, as well as the attentive nature of comedy, contribute to the effectiveness of comedy as a vehicle of relevant news and information. This research helps expand our knowledge base of comedy and its role and effectiveness in information distribution.;KEYWORDS: Comedy, Humor, Communications, Education, Information Distribution.