picture-6For the first time in its history, Newsweek magazine will be hosting a guest-editor. It's pretty shocking, I know. But it's true, they actually still make magazines. For those of you born after the Eisenhower administration, magazines are sort of like blogs, only they're on paper, you have to pay for them, and they don't have nearly as many nip-slips. As I was saying, one of them is called Newsweek, and Stephen Colbert will soon serve as its first-ever guest-editor.

For the next issue that hits newsstands on June 8, Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert will be Newsweek’s guest editor, The Observer has learned.

[Newsweek's Jon] Meacham said the idea was born from a lunch he had with Mr. Colbert at Gabriel’s near Columbus Circle.

“I was just very impressed with the range of his knowledge and he had an almost encyclopedic feel for anything that came up,” said Mr. Meacham. “As we think about ways to both inform and surprise readers of the magazine, the notion of having him as a guest editor seemed like a good one.”

It’s the first guest editor for Newsweek in its 76-year history.

The magazine’s conceit for this issue was born out of Mr. Meacham and Mr. Colbert’s meeting that day.

Mr. Colbert said that the “conventional wisdom” of his earnest, super-conservative Comedy Central character will be peppered throughout the issue, which will include an essay he will write, but that much of the content in the magazine will be treated with the utmost seriousness.

“We had input into what the stories are going to be," Mr. Colbert said

You can read the whole article here. And, after the jump, you can watch Jon Meacham's two appearances on The Colbert Report.

The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30pm / 10:30c.