I don't perceive my role as a newsman at all. I'm a comedian from stem to stern. You can cut me open and count the rings of jokes. If people learn something about the news by watching the show, that is incidental to my goal.

When asked what he perceives his role to be, given that many young people claim to get their news from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, on newsman."Harvard University: A Conversation with Stephen Colbert" (1 December 2006).