Wait, Stephen Colbert is NOT an “intellectual”?
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Heh. I’d say someone over at Foreign Policy Passport has realized that ostentatiously NOT nominating Stephen for a listed honor might be just as effective as nominating him would be, at least as far as driving hits to their site goes.
From FP Passport (emphasis in original):
An open letter to Stephen Colbert
Mon, 05/05/2008 – 2:27pm
Dear Dr. Colbert,
We must regretfully inform you that, after careful consideration and intense deliberation, we have not included you on the Foreign Policy/Prospect list of the world’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals in our May/June issue.
. . .
This was not an easy decision to make. It has provoked intense bitterness and division among our staff. Therefore, we feel obligated to inform you that there is another way of gaining a spot on the list. Until Thursday, May 15, members of the public can visit ForeignPolicy.com/intellectuals and vote for the world’s top public intellectuals. The e-ballot will include a write-in option for intellectuals that FP did not initially include. We will publish the public’s top 20 choices in our July/August issue, in addition to the top five write-in nominees. If you can convince the people of the world that you are not only an entertainer, but a major thinker as well, you just may have a chance of making the final cut.
. . .
Looks like you people with extra time on your hands now that the TIME 100 poll is closed may have a new project to take up.
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16 Comments
May 5th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
woah, we’ve gotta fix this.
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May 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
lol — I love that FP would actually pander like this… so, of course, I went over and wrote in Stephen – I also voted for a few radicals while I was at it.
ReCaptcha: customs tortuous
Tell me about it!
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May 5th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I see that the shameless coat tail riding continues on the part of the media. I guess this proves that the Colbert Bump is no passing thing.
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May 5th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I would love to be able to distinguish between nominating Stephen and “Stephen”. I’m not sure if I trust a high-falutin’ word like “intellectual”, but there’s no question that Stephen is a very intelligent, articulate, nuanced, multi-layered individual and performer. Seems like that should qualify!
Oooo – reCAPTCH = forcement could. It’s a choice.
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May 5th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Wow, pandering is right.
I almost don’t want to vote, just to spite them. But at the same time we all know he well deserves to be on that list.
Torn.
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May 5th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I was like, why does this look familiar? And then I remembered that I already wrote him in for it like two weeks ago, haha.
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May 5th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
@Jennie and AmandaIvy:
I’m not sure pander is a strong enough word. Their open letter is essentially in-your-face begging for site hits in a way that Time, at least, didn’t actually advertise.
Boy, I’m taking things to heart today.
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May 5th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Yah, except FP makes sure you can only vote once and you can’t vote anyone down.
Still rather shameless . . .
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May 5th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Apparently, they didn’t have enough intellectuals on staff to figure out how lame that would appear.
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May 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Um, excuse me? Not an intellectual? Don’t make me put you On Notice! Though, they do make up for it in pandering for site hits, so I guess I can let it slide. You know this will be on the show…
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May 5th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Am I alone in kind of hoping Stephen doesn’t take the bait, even though “Stephen” definitely would? Pandering for site hits at Stephen’s expense kind of rubs me the wrong way. *is conflicted*
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May 5th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I feel very conflicted about this as well. The direct pandering, esp the particular wording comes off as very lame and baiting. But then, looking at all the other people who didn’t make the cut it does actually seem a bit of an honor to be singled out. But if they were doing it only for promotional purposes, and just because they don’t really go into detail the reasons that set him apart from the rest it would seem that way *shakes head* this would be a cheap ploy
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May 5th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I agree, that’s the thing that bothers me, the fact that they seem to have purposefully singled him out to be kept off the list, and then use it for promotion for their site. For that reason, I kind of don’t want to reward them for it.
recaptcha: pitcher peabody
(I don’t think you can win a Peabody without being an intellectual, right?)
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May 6th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Very true, though I enjoy the fact that everybody is now vying for their own Colbert Bump. That in itself makes me laugh…
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May 6th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Thinking about this another way, it sounds like maybe some of their staff were incensed about not having Stephen on the list. If that’s the case, then I absolutely have to go vote for him.
ReCaptcha = unloosed earth
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August 3rd, 2008 at 1:16 am
Stephen Colbert doesn’t think, he feels.
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