I think the first time I ever read a copy of The Onion was during a family trip to Chicago when I was about 14 years old. I immediately loved it for what it was. The concept of a fake newspaper, written in the exact same format as a real newspaper-with headlines, photos, captions and all-seemed genius to me. These people clearly read newspapers, and some perhaps have even written for newspapers, which makes them really good-I have to admit-at making fun of newspapers.
The fake news organization has also transitioned quite well into the web-era with a fantastic website. The video content is particularly hilarious, like this one about the Franz Kafka Airport in Prague (definitely check this out if you've ever had to read The Trial.
It's likely that the A.V. club and The Onion were the first to publish fake-news (according to Wikipedia, The Onion was founded in 1988). Since then it seems that the business has only grown. While being really hilarious, I think sometimes fake-news serves a higher purpose as well. At times I think it keeps real journalists in check, by making them realize when they get to carried away. Steven Colbert has his own show that, many would argue, parodies far leaning right wing figures like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show recently reamed Mad Money host Jim Cramer for irresponsible reporting on he and his network's part (check out video here). The Onion itself, by parodying the standard form of newspaper journalism, allows journailists to see where certain pitfalls exist and become aware of them.
Overall I think at its best moments, fake news watches "the watchdog".
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I like the Onion too, although sometimes I wish it were less gross...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I think people often have a misconception that people who watch these shows or read the parodies think that that's the only place we get our news from. I just think it offers a satirical and often eye-opening perspective that's HILARIOUS.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It gives a hilarious side of everything, I personally love the Onion.
ReplyDeleteThough it may "watch the watchdog" - I think the real problem with fake news is that some do take it at face value. We as journalists, understand the farce, but I am not so sure about the general public. I gave a survey to my students last semester and one of the questions was - "do you think Jon Stewart is a real journalst?" Many of them said "yes" - which was very troubling. I definatley think the younger generations, who now have news choices at such a young age that no one ever had before, are choosing fake news instead of real news and are not learning how to differentiate.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've got to agree with everyone here. I have a mini daily calendar with mini articles and infographics from The Onion and it brightens my day.
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