Pro-Clinton? ‘SNL’ Says You’re Joking

PRO-CLINTON? 'SNL' SAYS YOU'RE JOKING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
Lorne Michaels has an answer to the political columns, cartoons and comments that have accused his show, “Saturday Night Live,” of favoring Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton during her primary showdown with Senator Barack Obama: Nope. “I’m in show business and I never, ever forget that,” Mr. Michaels said in a telephone interview on Tuesday night. “We put on a comedy show.” Over the past three weeks “SNL” has put itself back into the national discussion -- not a bad place for any television show to be, as Mr. Michaels acknowledged -- first with a series of sketches that have centered on the premise that Mrs. Clinton has been the target of a vengeful press that sees Mr. Obama with stars in its eyes and also with the overt (albeit comic) endorsement of Mrs. Clinton by Tina Fey, the former “SNL” star who returned on Feb. 23 to be the host of the first show after the recent writers’ strike. In the weeks that followed, some commentators have cited the comedy bits as aids that have helped revive Mrs. Clinton’s campaign with primary victories in Ohio and Texas. A study by the Pew research organization found that critical coverage of Mr. Obama had increased in the news media after the sketches.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/arts/television/13snl.html?ref=todayspaper
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