Katie Couric profiles and interviews the guys at Funny or Die, and also produces her own FoD video

If you’re looking for a critical look at Funny or Die, then Katie Couric’s profile on CBS Sunday Morning isn’t going to fill the bill for you.

Couric says the site has become profitable, but how exactly? Is it by being on TV? Yes, it’s by being on TV. They have their HBO series, plus working on a TV series for TBS based on Jewel’s undercover karaoke video. What about by being on the Internet? And does anyone watch a Funny or Die video that doesn’t star a big star or celebutard? I know. I know. Me and my boring journalist questions. Especially since I know and enjoy many of the funny comedians who are employed by FoD. And I’m no Katie Couric.

But then again, what would you expect Couric to do, considering she also just so happened to star in her own Funny or Die video spoof today?

Couric also sat down with Mike Farah and Jake Szymanski for an extended half-hour interview on her own online page within CBS News. Among the shots fired: Farah claimed that FoD was the best place for a young comedian to work, saying,

“It’s definitely become the place to be, and to work, in Hollywood. I would argue that to start off at Funny or Die is even better than starting off at SNL or on a TV show. Because, in two years of working at Funny or Die, I mean, Jake’s reel is a perfect example of it. To be able to work with the talent we’re able to work with, in this short-form comedy, for the Internet, and this branded stuff. You can’t really get that anywhere else.”

About seven minutes into this half-hour interview, Couric does ask Farah about the only word that seems to matter in online business: “monetization.” Ack! Ugly business talk! Let’s move on.

 

Did you know that Funny or Die has their very own version of Ricky Gervais’ Karl Pilkington? His name is Sean Boyle. Let’s hear it for Seans!

Oh, and here is Katie Couric’s investigative report on “the sillies,” produced by Farah, directed by Szymanski and written by Seth Morris. Roll it!


 

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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