Nation Editor Rejects Invitation to Appear on The Colbert Report, Citing 'Solidarity' with Writers

On Monday, Jan. 7, following in the footsteps of Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will return to the airwaves without their shows' writers, who remain on strike. Which guests will cross the picket line to appear on the first night back for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report?

Not Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation, who this afternoon told Media Mob that she had recently turned down Mr. Colbert's invitation to appear on his Jan. 7 show.

She said that she loved The Colbert Report but that she is "standing in solidarity with the striking writers."

"I think in this day and age, when you have these powerful media companies up against the writers, that you have to respect the strike," said Ms. vanden Heuvel. "There are large issues involved for the future of media. It's an issue this magazine has written a lot about and cared a lot about."

"The first centerfold The Nation ever did was a chart depicting these media companies," she continued. "So it seemed to me that the strike is an important fight against the power of conglomerat-ization, media consolidation, and Murdoch-ization."

According to Ms. vanden Heuvel, the show was looking for someone to talk about the role of labor today in America.