Loyola Student Dispatch

Thomas Purcell

Thomas Purcell, executive producer of The Colbert Report and Loyola University Chicago graduate, returned to his alma mater Monday to speak to students.

 A group of 50 undergraduate students gathered in Terry Student Center on Loyola’s Water Tower Campus to hear Purcell discuss what happens during a day on the set of “The Colbert Report” and to advise those interested in similar careers.

“Two-thirds of the scripts are written beforehand, and the rest is written that day,” said Purcell, who has been with the show since its premiere on Comedy Central in October 2005.

Purcell said that each of the 12 writers of “The Colbert Report” get about two hours to write a story before the day’s editing process begins.

“You have to write like your hair’s on fire,” Purcell said. “You have to make yourself a mini-expert on what you’re writing, quickly.”

After the day’s stories are written, the group of writers collectively edits the work, said Purcell. Around 1 p.m. on the day an episode airs, the writers finalize what stories make the cut.

Purcell said three questions are asked to determine if a story airs: Is it funny? Does it mean what we thought it should mean? Do we have time to do it?

Once the best stories are selected, four main writers, including Purcell and Colbert, rewrite the final script for about an hour, and then the show’s rehearsal begins.

When asked by an audience member if Colbert briefs the show’s guests before recording, Purcell responded, “Stephen goes to the subjects and warns them that [his] character is an idiot, and he’s going to twist their words. Our favorite guests are people who treat him like he’s real and stick by their argument.”

Purcell’s work for “The Colbert Report” has won the Loyola alumnus two daytime Emmys and two Producers Guild of America awards.

“When I first got this job, I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere, honestly,”  Purcell said.

Purcell advised students on how to pursue a career in a similar field.

“Your work has to speak for itself, so find ways to make it different and interesting,”  Purcell said. “Write for free, have excellent samples, and eventually someone will hire you.”

Students seemed entertained and inspired by Purcell’s advice.

“The most important point that Purcell made was that being a journalist is about talent, not who you know and the connections you have,” said Karen Leipzig, 20, a junior social work major. “If you don’t present your best work when looking for a job, you won’t get it, and that’s important for journalism and communications majors to know.”

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