Colbert: The New Bob Hope

Colbert's favorite word is hotter than ever

(NEWSER) - It was five years ago today, and Stephen Colbert needed a word that could personify the "blowhard" persona he was about to launch on the Colbert Report. He was looking for something "sublimely idiotic," something "silly" with which to mock American pundits, writes Ben Zimmer in his New York Times "On Language" column. In a moment of inspiration, he picked "truthiness." A star was born. More»

Critics split on Jennifer Lopez as host, agree on singer as musical guest

(NEWSER) - The Jennifer Lopez image-rehab train pulled into Saturday Night Live station last night, to mixed reviews.

• "Her appearance on the show—bizarro Hallmark lyric songs included—was a very obvious attempt at rebranding herself as a down-to-earth, un-diva-like sweetheart, but it just came across as weird and overly acted," Hortense writes for Jezebel . Although there were some high points, "overall, it was a pretty craptacular show."

Earnest Colbert calls himself unambitious, religious

(NEWSER) - It wasn't Stephen Colbert's on-screen persona who turned up for a recent Rolling Stone interview, but the real Stephen Colbert—a man as "preppy, earnest, and gentle" as Ned Flanders. In the interview, Colbert dishes on his style of deconstructing the news: "I take the sausage backwards, and I restuff the sausage. ... We falsely construct the hypocrisy. And I embody the bullshit until hopefully you can smell it." More highlights: More»

(NEWSER) - When Stephen Colbert announced he was doing four shows in front of the troops in Baghdad, many wondered if he’d tone down his ironic bluster. Wonder no more. Colbert swaggered on stage for the taping in a camouflage business suit yesterday, and declared himself the only one man enough to declare victory in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Then the president ordered Ray Odierno to shave Colbert’s head. More»

He's broadcasting four shows

(NEWSER) - Stephen Colbert is taking his show on the road—to Iraq. Next week, the Colbert Report will broadcast from Baghdad, where the host says he'll be "Bob Hoping" it, the AP reports. The four shows will be taped in front of 450 troops, and Colbert is taking it seriously. "I don't want to forget that people are struggling through the things that I sometimes make jokes about," he said. More»