LA Times talks about the Colbert Nation
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Stephen Colbert is his name, and getting something named after him is his game. And the Colbert Nation loves every minute of it. The LA Times has an article that will be featured in Sunday’s paper, and it talks all about Stephen’s ability to get everything from ice cream to bugs to space stations named after him. (Look closely, and you might recognize one of the people quoted in the story.)
Stephen Colbert’s name game
By Scott Collins – October 11, 2009
Stephen Colbert (pictured left) petitioned successfully to have his portrait hung in Washington's National Portrait Gallery (center) and has a treadmill on the International Space Station named after him (right). (Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times / Associated Press / Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press)
What does a celebrity have to do to get stuff named after himself these days? Just ask, it seems.
“I guess there is one episode where he was talking about wanting things named after him,” said Quentin Wheeler, a professor at Arizona State University and director of the International Institute of Species Exploration, who with a co-author named the beetle after Colbert. “And why not? He has a popular following, obviously.”
…
“What makes the show entertaining is that Stephen has essentially made it interactive, where it’s not just us sitting and watching the show,” said DB Ferguson, a Dallas-based Colbert fan who runs the biggest fan site, nofactzone.net. “You don’t hear about ‘Daily Show’ fans going off and naming things after Jon Stewart. Stephen will say, ‘I want this named after me — go, Nation!’ And inevitably, the fans will pick that up. It’s interactivity that makes the fans so passionate.”
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23 Comments
October 10th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Is it weird that I’m ridiclously happy that you were interviewed for an article on the Nation? Although, they couldn’t have found a better expert on the Nation.
Also, where is that picture of Stephen from? I quite like it.
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October 10th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I agree!
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October 10th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Great article! I love your quotes in it, DB. Way to represent the Nation! :)
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October 10th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Nice! Is the site ready for an impact of curious first time visitors tomorrow?! Can’t wait!
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October 10th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I’m curious as to see if there will be a “LA Times Bump”. I think that the LA Times is trying to get the Colbert Bump by trying to give Colbert the LA Times Bump =p
reCaptcha: man chili
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October 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Haha! That recaptcha is hilarious!
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October 10th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Whoo-hoo! Congratulations, DB!
And to summarize your reply to the reporter’s question, “Are fans doing all this in the name of Colbert the real man or Colbert the character?”
Yes.
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October 10th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I had trouble with this part:
“They support it because Stephen said, ‘Do it.’”
I’m thinking this was taken out of context a bit. I think that they portrayed the fans as just a mob when we are it-getters. Its not as if would go out and support worthless programs, there is a trust that we have with Colbert so that when he says, “Nation this is worthwhile, support your country by supporting (donorschose, IAVA, etc)” we know that he has vetted this organization and that our financial support or word of mouth support is going where it needs to go.
Unlike Sasha B. Cohen (who some people compare him too, I think that’s an unfair comparison), Colbert does come out of character often and lets people see the real Colbert. I wish the article would have touched on that aspect a little more. Colbert is out there in RL promoting worthwhile charities.
Also when they talk about Colbert the character, they say he’s just taking partisanship to the extreme. His character actually isn’t defined by his ‘ridiculous partisanship’, as the show is all about him. The show really is (stealing Jon Stewart’s talking point) defined by Colbert deconstructing the news, and then reconstructing it to the ridiculous extreme.
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October 10th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I think DB discussed Stephen’s on-air support of actual charities. I agree, Roland, it would have been great for the reporter to have covered that aspect in depth; however, not being able to interview Stephen probably made that difficult (but, how cool was it to have the LA Times interview DB!).
I suspect (and this is just intuition, if not “truthiness”) that Stephen may be more comfortable promoting charities through the filter of “Stephen.”
At least the Times recognized that he’s playing a character, unlike the results of that conservative/ liberal survey a few months ago!
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October 10th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Indeed, it was awesome that DB was interviewed =)
October 10th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
A fabulous article, made even more fabulous by the fact that you’re quoted in it, DB! How cool! Very interesting angle to write an article on Stephen – all the things that are named after him. It’s pretty awesome. :)
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October 10th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I’m so glad the author of the article talked to the true expert among the fans, the überfan of Colbert Nation, if you will. We sound like a bunch of intelligent and dedicated fans. And not at all crazed or obsessive. ;-)
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October 10th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Very nice DB, I imagine there will be more site bumpage to come.
And really, how could ANYONE resist giving Stephen Colbert what he wants? :)
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October 10th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Oh, DB, how great! I have to go read the rest of the article, but kudos to the LA Times for tracking you down and interviewing you.
Now, we’d just better do a little dusting and straightening up around here for all the company that’s sure to drop by. :-)
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October 10th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Nicely done DB! Especially like that you pointed out Stephen’s real humanitarian side and donorschoose.org :)
I really liked the sentence the author of the article uses about the Nation being called to action, “…no matter how firmly his tongue is planted inside his cheek.” I think it recognizes that we understand him even when he’s kidding and being completely ridiculous, and we vote for him anyway because we’re in on the joke.
@Roland – I definitely agree that a lot of Stephen’s appeal on TCR when he’s playing “Stephen Colbert” is that he does let his true character shine through sometimes, which lets you know even more that he’s kidding and just having fun. I think that’s part of why the Nation follows him so fervently – they realize that he’s a decent human being so that makes naming a space station after him all the more fun. :)
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October 10th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Congratulations on being quoted in the LA Times DB! Well-deserved as you are the go-to person for everything Stephen-related. Looking forward to increased traffic tomorrow…and I’m not talking about the street kind;)
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October 11th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Hurray, you did a lovely job of representing us it-getters, DB (though I wish it didn’t have to include a semi-jibe at Jon and his show).
I actually think the article is a bit lazy for only focusing on the name-game bit, and not talking about the other ‘games’ that both you and Michele Ganeless mention – namely Donorschoose.org, and things like editing wikipedia (and apparently breaking conservapedia and earning a warning from them XD).
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October 11th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Yeah, that line about Jon came out badly. I wasn’t trying to say that the fans of TDS were bad and uncharitable, but that the Nation was above and beyond other fandoms as far as charity.
I committed the cardinal sin – comparing Jon and Stephen. *headdesk* My bad.
ReCAPCHA: iodizes sugar – Must be in the new version of Vaxebo.
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October 11th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
It’s a sin that’s hard to avoid when you’re a fan of both shows encountering ‘outsiders’.
I do wish there were more still active Jon/TDS fansites but it’s true that his “character” and style of show don’t inspire quite the same type of interactivity that Stephen and his show do. I’m happy with the Sixth Degree segments here ^_^
::snickers at Vaxebo::
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October 11th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Oh, it’s always hard to think straight when talking to a reporter. Look what happened to Robert Wexler;)
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October 11th, 2009 at 2:18 am
*balloon drop*!! Congratulations DB!
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October 11th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Scott is a nice guy. I enjoyed the communication he and I shared before this piece came out. There were several contributors who helped him create his information on The Nation. He wanted this article to really focus on the fans. Great job DB. It was cool to see you quoted.
another
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October 11th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I got my print version of the article this morning and I must say I love the gloriously large picture within! I am very excited to see that the article made to the front page of the Calendar section and quoted DB more than once!
However, I wish the article had not ended with Professor Quentin Wheeler’s suggestion that people won’t know who Stephen Colbert is 200 years from now. I beg to differ!
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