Comedy Central Presents...

When it comes to un-elected leaders, Jon Stewart (host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (Colbert Report)have emerged as political forces for todays youth. As the posted article points to, nearly 30 percent of Americans aged 18-29 turn to the two activists as their trusted news source.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/entertainment/march_2009/nearly_one_third_of_younger_americans_see_colbert_stewart_as_alternatives_to_traditional_news_outlets

Using comedy, Colbert and Stewart have influenced about one-third of the nation total.

It seems to me like college-aged and young adults trust Colbert and Stewart and seek the two out hear their political views. As a result, the stance that these men take on issues heavily effects how their viewers feel about it. Young adults don't seem to have the patience to sit through traditional news prgrams that their parents did. More and more they turn to the internet or faster means to try to retrieve their news and political information. But Colbert and Stewart have created programs that allow people to retrieve news and laugh at the people who make it. There shows are seemingly fast -paced and current with news that effects younger demograhics. This allows them to have such an influence on young minds.

Celebrities Changing Politics

http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/17/forbes-tracker-celebs-oped-cx_daa_1017celebs.html

This article although dated back to 2007 is extremely relevant to our topic. It is concerning celebrities influence in the 2008 presidential election. A poll was given to 2,213 people of all ages and genders; each person was asked how they would respond if different celebrities such as Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah supported a candidate either positively, negatively or not at all. No matter if a poll taker responded negatively or positively, it is proof that these people do in fact have influence over the public opinion. The idea that this elite group of people can have such extreme power supports the trait approach to leadership. Celebrities are looked at as more powerful people; even though they technically have the same number of votes as everyone else. It is often said that people in such a position are born leaders. In the text it describes these people as leaders because they often possess desirable traits such as self-confidence, and sociability. The text would also call these leaders, emergent and are able to utilize referent and even expert power. Even though someone such as, George Clooney, may have the same amount of knowledge about politics as the average person we give them this personal power and thus the ability to influence our decisions.

Emily Seaholm
Team 6

Introduction to Team 6 Blog

Through out this semester Team 6 who includes, Dan Becker, Tyler Hubert, Quasheena Ellis and Emily Seaholm, will be discussing the idea of leaders who do not have legitament leadership power yet still are able to influence many. There are individuals who help form the public opinion such as leaders of social movements, media celebrities and shapers of public opinion. We will be studying what attracts followers to these people and how they use this power.