For those who may have missed it, BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith interviewed Stephen Colbert this morning. Smith and Colbert discussed such things as the 2016 presidential election, Colbert’s process of adjustment to the late-night network TV format, his latent right-wing persona, and a range of other topics. Without further ado, my report on Stephen Colbert’s BuzzFeed interview …
Stephen Colbert’s BuzzFeed Interview – “I Think it Would Be Bad”
Smith asked Colbert about his thoughts on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Describing one as boring and another as an orange manatee (you figure out which was which), Colbert was candid. Unhindered by his right-wing persona and the demands of CBS network executives, Colbert let his hair down. Colbert dropped “F-bombs” because he could, and described the inconsistency in CBS’s application of censorship. But, Colbert also presented himself as the remarkably well-informed personality he is.
One memorable moment during the interview was when Colbert described Ben Smith but not himself as being a member of the press. Fake pundit that he is, it’s an easy thing to forget that Stephen Colbert is an entertainer and not a journalist.
Discussing his transition to network TV, Colbert said that the switch to network television hasn’t been that jarring. What has been a difficult adjustment for Colbert is the faster pace of his new show’s production schedule. With five shows a week, Colbert described the pace at which the show must go on. But, Colbert’s best moment was when he said of Trump’s potential presidency, “I think it would be bad.”
Stephen Colbert’s BuzzFeed Interview – Diversity among Writers
Taking a question from the public, Colbert answered a question about diversity among his writers. Colbert said he’s all for diversity among his writing team and said that he would love to have more black writers on his staff, saying that he often feels that an African-American viewpoint is missing from his work. For a good laugh and a great conversation, go to BuzzFeed to watch the complete video.
