Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but the statement didn't specify the first time
for zinc. It just said that the cost to make the cent had gone over 1¢ for the first time:
For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make this year, thanks to higher metal prices.
In 1982, there was more than 1¢ worth of copper in the cent, now there is more than 1¢ worth of zinc in the cent... this is the second time the Lincoln cent has cost more than 1¢ to make.
Oh, I see what you are disputing -- that this is the first time the price of production has exceeded the bullion value of the metal. Perhaps they changed to zinc as the price of copper was going up but before the value of a penney's worth of copper increased to over one cent.