Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – July 21, 2009

Hey, Zoners! I had a few good news items find their way to my inbox just in the past 24 hours, so I thought I’d share early this week. Here’s your zeitgeist for July 21st, the mid-week drive-by edition.

Did Newsweek get a Colbert bump?

The early numbers are in for the special Colbert-edited issue of Newsweek, and they’re apparently not as good as some folks thought they should be. But as the second article points out, increasing newsstand sales is not really Newsweek‘s strategy here. What they’re trying to do is increase their profitability, and they’re doing it in a way that seems counterintuitive, but might actually work.

• Despite Colbert, ho-hum sales for Newsweek – Daily Finance

  “The June 15 issue about the Iraq War, which the Colbert Report host guest-edited, sold about 75,000 copies on newsstands, according to Newsweek‘s preliminary estimate. That’s above the title’s year-to-date average of 66,600, but not by much. It was only the fifth highest-selling issue of the year (tied with the March 16 issue).

  “Overall, Newsweek‘s sales are down slightly since a May redesign meant to position it as a more Economist-like package of opinion and thought-leadership with a smaller, more elite audience… A Newsweek spokesman notes that the post-relaunch average is 15 percent up from the 10 weeks prior.”

• Reminder: Newsweek Is TRYING To Shrink Newsstand Sales – The Business Insider

  “For months now, Newsweek has made it clear that, in something of a naked attempt to capture the Economist‘s success, it intends to become a less widely-read, but more profitable magazine.

  “The idea is that by putting the magazine on fewer newstands and raising its subscription rates, the magazine will be able to simultaneously lower printing costs and dwindle its reader-base to a wealthier group that advertisers will pay higher rates to reach.”

Make Stephen an honorary member of IAVA!

Just a reminder, kids, that the petition to make Stephen an honorary IAVA member still needs signatures. The petition has around 15,750 signatures as I write this, so that leaves us with 9,250 to go to reach the final goal of 25,000. If you haven’t already signed, please do it so the Nation can help bestow this honor on Stephen. As the article below points out, he isn’t repeatedly harping on this on the show, which means it’s not just another “vote for Stephen” gimmick. It’s an honor that would really mean something to him. This article highlights the drive to get signatures for the online petition; big thanks to Paul Reickhoff of IAVA for bringing it to our attention.

• Colbert Soldiers on in New Campaign – NBC Dallas-Forth Worth

  “Colbert earned his stripes last month when he headed to Iraq for a week of shows in which he interviewed brass and rank-and-file soldiers, bumbled his way through some basic training drills, and got a buzz cut on the direct order of President Obama.

  “The shows were funny, but more importantly they put a rare spotlight on the soldiers serving in Iraq. Even if Iraq had become a political punchline for comedians, Colbert showed an appreciation for the troops’ service that transcends views on the war.”

Frank McCourt

The literary world lost a great one this past weekend with the death of Frank McCourt. He was by all accounts a charming man and entertaining storyteller as well as a brilliant writer, and for me, as a lover of books and as an Irish American, his loss is doubly sad. He made two appearances on TCR, the first for an interview back in January of 2006, and the second in honor of National Libary [sic] Week in April 2007. The interview is charming, but I find his salute to National Libary [sic] Week funny because I’m a librarian, and… I don’t really need any other reason, right?

(h/t Ms I)