Satirists, Political

William A. Hanff

Political satire is a sub-genre of political journalism, and a complex ironic practice of political criticism mixed with rhetorical hyperbole, entertaining humor, deliberate mis-statement and personal insight. Political satire frequently defines (and on occasion, exceeds) the accepted limits of professional journalism because the practice draws attention to biases and subjectivity inherent in news gathering and editing, as well as society in general. Political satire has roots deep in western history and has flourished in different historical periods and cultures of representative democracy. While such satire can exist in many forms of media, it can make its most pointed effects as a genre of news gathering and political journalism. Like all satire, political satire holds current events and social relationships up against a set of idealized ethical norms such as basic fairness, humanitarianism, and democracy. Political satire can function as topical humor when actual events not only fall short of proclaimed ...

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