Onion editor Joe Randazzo and fellow staffers will discuss current events and offer insight into their stories at 8 p.m., Thursday in Royce Hall.
Credit: The Onion
In the fall of 2009, two Bangladeshi newspapers, The Daily Manab Zamin and The New Nation, reported that Neil Armstrong claimed the United States’ moon landing was a hoax, and citeda similar American news article.
They were only two of many news organizations, including American companies such as Fox News and MSNBC, that have been duped by the satirical “fake news” of The Onion over the years.
The Onion’s editor Joe Randazzo and associate editor Will Tracy will speak in Royce Hall on Thursday night through UCLAlive. Tracy said he and Randazzo will focus on the history and daily procedures of The Onion, while providing audio and visual examples of the organization’s work.
The Onion was founded as a satirical newspaper in 1988 and has since evolved into an organization consisting of the original newspaper, a website with audio and video components and, as of January, two television shows.
The Onion has reached a wide fan base through its blending of thoughtful political satire with outrageous humor.
“The Onion is a great example of satire that mocks political and managerial leadership,” said Professor Leonard Freedman, a member of the political science emerti faculty. “The Onion is the most outrageous and consistent organization of its kind.”
Though The Onion’s satirical role is indisputable, Tracy said he believed its purpose is far less high-minded.
“Some people view The Onion as a source of cutting-edge satire and commentary,” Tracy said. “Honestly, I think its main purpose is to delight people and make them laugh.”
Readers of The Onion attest to the organization’s knack for finding humor in serious situations.
“The Onion is great because they parody the news, but they also parody the media,” said Joanna Wheaton, a second-year political science student. “They basically talk about how messed up the world is, but they do in a way that allows you to laugh at it, so it’s not so scary.”
Tracy, who was raised in Portland, Ore., said he never envisioned himself becoming a comedy writer. He moved to New York to study English at Vassar College and worked for a book-publishing company for a year after graduating. After being fired from that job, he began an internship with The Onion.
“I was a fan of The Onion in high school, but I never even considered working for them,” Tracy said. “If I had been better at that publishing job and not been fired, I would have never ended up at The Onion.”
Tracy worked for three months as an intern and later began to contribute weekly headlines and jokes as a freelance writer. After a year of freelancing, he was hired as a staff writer, and was soon promoted to the title of associate editor. Tracy said his experience writing for The Onion is one that could not happen with any other publication.
“The Onion delivers jokes that you might not be able to get from other sources, because they wouldn’t be allowed to make them,” Tracy said. “We can make jokes about whatever we want to because we don’t have to worry about offending anybody.”
However, this doesn’t mean that the organization has not censored its jokes in the past. Each week, writers submit around 100 potential headline ideas, but only a few actually make it to print.
“We’ve never been told we couldn’t run a story by any external authority because as a work of satire, we are protected under most libel laws,” Tracy said. “However, we sometimes censor stories from within, when we think the portrayal is unfair. For the most part, we try to stick up for the little guy and skewer the thing that is wrong.”
Though the organization has lampooned many powerful figures in the past, they have yet to face any large-scale backlash.
“Sometimes, I get the feeling that people like being in The Onion because they consider it a badge of honor,” Tracy said. “They are very rarely offended. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.”
Even in the context of the current recession, The Onion has been able to maintain readership.
“I think it’s because there are not many humor publications anymore, so we’re delivering things you cannot get in other places,” Tracy said. “In hard times, comedy always does fine.”