No joke: Report says The Onion discussing sale
(Credit:
The Onion)
This just in: things are so miserable in the news business that you can't even turn a buck in the fake news business.
The Onion, a print publication that satirizes the news, is for sale, according to a story that appeared Wednesday in Gawker.
Citing an unnamed source, the blog reported that The Onion is "in negotiations to sell to a large media company." Gawker said the source did not know how far the negotiations had progressed.
In recent months, The Onion has appeared to suffer the same advertising and high print-cost troubles as "real" news publications. The Onion's leaders just oversaw broad cost cutting that included discontinuing the printing of editions in San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as laying off editors in those areas.
Some top managers have also left, including Sean Mills, the publication's former president.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
I'm saddened to hear that they're suffering in this economic period as well.
Two points id like to make. They should scale them selves back. I love their video news and podcasts and what not. but if they could be profitable as a website and small scale print (maybe even charge for print copies from machines) then they could free up some cash. most likely, a major media outlet would do that anyway, but then you wont have to see "The Onion: The TV Show" on Fox
Hopefully they will be bought be a company that cares about the brand, and not the brands "potential". (remeber the GREAT job Fox did with Myspace)
Everytime i think Fox might buy The Onion, i throw up a little.
It's recently seemed forced, repetitive, and banal - more about the commonplace than the spectacularly absurd. Maybe all the good stories have been written.
I'll read Dan Savage someplace else and mourn the good ol' days in Madison, Wisconsin. I guess they moved on and I haven't. (Written while looking over Lake Mendota and thinking of the Zucker brothers, the Pail and Shovel Party, and the Statue of Liberty.)
Template 1: Mundane topic reported as news article in great detail, often as allegory about something more important or as proof that we obsess over stupid things
Template 2: He said/she said editorials, with one side being ignorant/belligerent/talking about something else
Template 3: Something is declared difficult/stupid/pointless/awesome/etc. and then people comment on it for 5 paragraphs
Template 4: Someone is mocked/hated/loved/stalked by someone else, written as a news story
Template 5: A misunderstanding of some point is beaten like a dead horse.
Template 6: A facet of a relationship or personality trait is treated as a news story
There are a couple of others, but after a while, there's no compelling reason to go back and read. It's funny, but not fresh anymore. I used to subscribe with a print delivery, but tired of it.
What they really need to do is retool and then:
Adopt a child or take in a nephew/cousin in need
-or-
Have a baby (that's always funny)
-or-
Be visited by an alien named Gazoo
You know, something we haven't seen before to freshen things up!
- by CSat2 July 20, 2009 12:17 PM PDT
- It's happened! The Onion has been sold to Amalgamated Salvage Fisheries and Polymer Injection Corporation Yu Wan Mei!
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(9 Comments)Great Success!
This is completely indicative of the failing finances in media, and is in no way a satire! Fish time is for unyielding profit and success! Great reporting!