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Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

nytimes.com

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Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#111

Post by tkgally »

pants2 wrote: post #22

This is the best birthday present I could have asked for. The Onion News Network has the funniest, most prescient videos online and I love going back to watch them. Even if the Onion comes back half as funny as they were it's going to be fabulous. Here are a few of my lesser-known favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdP1zK15bE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgRz3nSG7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUT8ec2…

One of my favorite videos from that era:

“Concentric Circles Emanating from Glowing Red Dot”

https://youtu.be/8wHMaJ6AtNs?si=GMQSQDYXbTQfGEI9

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#112

Post by tootie »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #66
lubujackson wrote: post #57

I'm old enough to remember when it was a physical paper you'd get for free in Harvard Square... wish I kept some of them. I particularly enjoyed the old "Point/Counterpoints" such as: https://www.theonion.com/u-s-out-of-my-uterus-vs-we-must-dep... https://www.theonion.com/americas-homeless-want-a-hand-up-no... https://www.theonion.com/my-computer-totally-hates-me-vs-god... Also, shout out to the "Oh! Mumford" comic s…

I don't think I'm the target audience. I don't really get it. I spent years homeless. I try to write about meaningful ways to help the homeless while preserving their agency. I try to write about systemic issues I feel contribute to the problem. I don't find that second link funny or relatable or anything that makes sense to me.

As with any comedy, they are hits a misses. And probably more misses than hits. But they just keep shooting and people mostly remember the gems.

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#113

Post by tootie »

culturthrowaway wrote: post #56
Avshalom wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ben Collins says they're bring back ONN https://bsky.app/profile/bencollins.bsky.social/post/3kqyj7u...

This is a splash of cold water if you're familiar with who Ben Collins is. This will not not be a return to The Onion you fondly remember. Most likely it will be a continuation in the same direction it's been going.

I was genuinely excited to see him be the new boss. He's incredibly smart and incisive and really understands internet culture.

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#114

Post by parpfish »

lapcat wrote: post #38

I think this is good news, because G/O Media websites are the worst. I was at UW-Madison when The Onion started. We had a wealth of student newspapers at the time, along with The Daily Cardinal and The Badger Herald. Scott Dikkers and Todd Hanson, writers for The Onion, also wrote great comic strips for the Cardinal (Jim's Journal and Badgers and Other Animals, respectively). Some favorite Onion headlines that I reme…

And don’t forget that Dan savage worked at 4 star video at the time

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#115

Post by khazhoux »

lapcat wrote: post #40
khazhoux wrote: post #33

The funnest fun fact about The Onion is that it was started by the guy that did Jim’s Journal comic strip, back in the mid 90s.

That's not a fact. Scott Dikkers didn't start The Onion, though he was a very early employee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Onion#Madison_(1988–2001) Jim's Journal started in the late 80s, by the way.

Sorry, but it's now an internet fact:

> Jim's Journal is a comic strip written and drawn by Scott Dikkers, co-founder of The Onion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim%27s_Journal

Take it up with Jimmy Wales.

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#116

Post by snowwrestler »

cm2012 wrote: post #31

The onion got really unfunny because they got too moralizing on their pet issues. Hopefully they can fix that.

Exactly! Comedians aren’t funny when they have opinions. They’re only funny when they tell jokes that are carefully calculated not to make anyone upset about anything.

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#117

Post by shitlord »

afavour wrote: post #95
culturthrowaway wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a splash of cold water if you're familiar with who Ben Collins is. This will not not be a return to The Onion you fondly remember. Most likely it will be a continuation in the same direction it's been going.

OK, I’ll bite: why? I don’t know who Ben Collins is and at a first read of his bio I’m not really sure who would. My first instinct is that this is one of those terminally online things, like how I kept reading references to “Taylor Lorenz” as if she were the devil incarnate and when I finally looked into it she was just another pretty boring journalist.

[flagged]

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#119

Post by skyyler »

bitsinthesky wrote: post #103
pabs3 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, or send them to archive.org for scanning and publishing on the web.

And these fullpage scans provide value above what theonion.com already provides?

A lot of people will be interested in the ads and other signs of the times.

Re: Jeff Lawson buys The Onion

#120

Post by OldGuyInTheClub »

saalweachter wrote: post #85
OldGuyInTheClub wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned about it via "Monk Gloats over Yoga Championship" https://www.theonion.com/monk-gloats-over-yoga-championship-... I also frequently mention I don't watch television. In fact, I don't even own one. https://www.theonion.com/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-d...

For me, it was "Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over": https://www.theonion.com/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of...

The foresight... still hurts to this day.

Wish it had gone this way. From 1998:

https://www.theonion.com/clinton-threatens-to-drop-da-bomb-o...

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