Media is a recurring theme of satire on The Simpsons. The show is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture, but has since its inception covered all types of media such as animation, journalism, commercials, comic books, movies, internet, and music. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town but the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry. Most of The Simpsons media satire focuses on television. This is mainly done through three characters: Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Bob, and until 1998 Troy McClure. The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show, used as a satire of animation and in some cases The Simpsons itself. Topics include censorship, plagiarism, unoriginal writing, live-action clip shows and documentaries. Kent Brockman, Springfield's principal news presenter illustrates the glibness, amplification, and sensationalism of broadcast journalism. His tabloidization methods include making people look guilty without trial, and invasion of privacy by setting up camp outside people's homes. Background The Simpsons is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture. It uses the standard setup of a situation comedy, or sitcom, as its premise and centers on a family and their life in a typical American town. However, its animated nature gives The Simpsons an unusually large scope. The town of Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The town has a vast array of media channels—from children's television series to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry. On the radio, the citizens of Springfield have fictional radio stations such as KBBL-AM, KBBL-FM, KUDD, WKOMA, KJAZZ, KFSL, and WOMB. Using The Simpsons as an example of Media literacy education, Jonathan Gray discusses the role that television, and specifically television parody, might play in teaching the techniques and rhetoric of television to audiences. Several characters have a role in this satire. Krusty the Clown is a hard-living entertainment veteran, who has his own show: The Krusty the Klown Show, which is aimed towards a children's audience and has many followers, including Bart Simpson. He is sometimes depicted as a jaded, burned out