Colbert Report’s fictitious blog, with very real contract terms.

Date January 27, 2007

Wednesday’s Colbert Report mentioned Integrity Justice, a blog Colbert said he was creating to seed fake news stories that he hoped would eventually get big enough to make it onto his show (video here). As weird as that may be, it’s not as weird as the show’s producers’ choice of what to actually put on the domain. It’s basically a standard template email form for fake news submissions (although it never even mentions what you’re supposed to be submitting), but it includes a long textbox filled with contract terms. First I thought it was just boilerplate “we have the right to use whatever you write here however we want for free,” (the first part of the text is about how to send in submissions) but as I looked through it I realized that it includes the contract they have for people who appear on the show itself.

Guest Name: ____________________________ (check one) Performance: _ Interview: _ MOS: _
ENTRANTS NAME:
DATE: ______

GUEST/PERFORMER RELEASE
This release is made to allow (“you”) to include me as a guest performer in a production and/or publication tentatively entitled (the “Programming”). I am giving this release in consideration for you allowing me to participate as a guest performer in the Programming and I recognize that my signature on this release is a condition of your permitting me to be a guest on or a performer in the Programming or both.

But my favorite part is definitely:
I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge any statements made by me during the Performance will be true and will not violate or infringe upon any third party’s rights.
Somehow, I couldn’t find anything guaranteeing that everything Colbert says must be true.

Anyway, aside from the email submission contract and the guest appearance contract, keep an eye out for the bonus “hazardous activity” language and the location use waiver. It’s a thrill a minute at Integrity Justice!

What happened here? I assume an intern just goofed up and cut-and-pasted all the legal language they could find on the show’s LAN. At any rate, it’s a nice insight into just how boring (yet restrictive) even an absurd TV show’s contract can be.

Category Posted in Politics/Law, Television