No joke: ‘The Onion’ thinks print is the future of media

The most recent issue of The Onion runs through a printing press in Chicago. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

THE funniest writers at The Onion shuffled through dozens of news stories at a meeting recently, trying to discern which headline would make readers laugh harder.

“Next Up: 911 Operator Calmly Talks Woman Through Macarena,” suggested one writer, as his co-workers cackled. Another: “JD Vance Doubles Down on Contro-versial Criticism of Childless Children.”

The headlines – all 52 of them – were completely fake, possible fodder for the satirical news site. But the jokesters behind those stories were also hard at work on a genuine experiment in the media business, one so counterintuitive that it sounds as if it could have been published in The Onion.

In August, The Onion began distributing a print edition for the first time in more than a decade and will soon deliver it monthly to everyone who subscribes to its site. The move is a throwback to the publication’s roots as a campus weekly in the late 1980s.

But it is also emblematic of a growing trend in the media industry – trying new ways to attract and retain digital subscribers.

The Onion is no stranger to the difficulties that face the publishing business. Its headlines have tracked the tumult in the media industry over the past several years, even occasionally poking fun at itself: “The Onion: ‘Mild-Mannered Reporter Suddenly Transforms Into Incredible Unemployed Man’.”

The print edition is part of a variety of perks that the company plans to offer online subscribers, who pay US$5 (RM21.60) a month, said Ben Collins, the CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron. The company plans to offer invites to live events, access to The Onion’s archive of physical papers, and sponsorship of ambitious editorial projects, such as a video titled “The Perfect One-Pot, Six-Pan, 10-Wok, 25-Baking-Sheet Dinner” Collins said.

“Do you know how much 10 woks cost these days?” he asked. “It’s not pretty.”

The Onion hopes to begin turning a profit later this year with the help of those subscription add-ons, said Collins, whose company took over the publication in April.

At the same time, The Onion is reducing its reliance on certain kinds of advertising. A month ago, it stopped running digital ads from the company Taboola, a purveyor of attention-grabbing links. Most of the ads in this month’s print edition are fake, but there are some genuine promotions for The Onion. One of the ads: “It’s That Sweater You Clicked On Once. We Found a Way to Follow You Into Print Media, Too.”

The Onion: ‘Major Shift in Media Landscape Occurs Every 6 Seconds’

Over the past 10 years, The Onion has changed hands three times. It was bought by Spanish-language television company Univision, digital publisher G/O Media and, this year, Global Tetrahedron. Along the way, there have been layoffs, tense contract negotiations, and even the sale of The Onion’s sister site, The AV Club.

But its 15 staff members are hoping the worst is behind them. Under the owner of Global Tetrahedron, Jeff Lawson, a co-founder of the tech company Twilio, the publication has enjoyed a relatively calm period.

Lawson said he had started joking with friends about buying The Onion after Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, bought Time magazine in 2018. In early 2024, Lawson was introduced to a group interested in buying The Onion, including Collins; Leila Brillson, a former TikTok executive; and Danielle Strle, a product development executive.

“I said, ‘I have US$600 – who wants to help me buy this?’” Collins said. He said he was lucky to be introduced to Lawson, “the only regular person in Silicon Valley.”

Lawson said he hoped to own The Onion for the rest of his life. The business could be turned around, he said, if it focused first on satisfying its paying customers.

Lawson said he hadn’t discussed his purchase of The Onion with Elon Musk – the Tesla CEO, who at one point discussed a bid for the site – despite their shared love of satire.

“Unbelievably, not all Silicon Valley people hang out in an evil mountainside lair,” Lawson said.

The Onion: ‘Americans Demand New Form of Media to Bridge Entertainment Gap While Looking From Laptop to Phone

The Onion handed out its new print edition at the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago – where The Onion is based – though Collins joked that the publication was not credentialed to cover the event.

The major influx of influential journalists made it a perfect opportunity to debut the print edition, said Jordan LaFlure, The Onion’s executive editor.

LaFlure said he hoped the print newspaper would reach a younger generation of consumers who had already begun to show some affinity for analog substitutes of digital products.

“I think for the same reason that 18-year-old kids are buying Taylor Swift on vinyl,” LaFlure said, “we can introduce those same kids to the notion that a print publication is a much richer way to consume media.”

The staff doesn’t seem to share that enthusiasm for all publications. One of the front-page headlines in The Onion recently: “New York Times to cease publication.” – ©2024 The New York Times Company

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.