SiguzaJul 9
Josh Sutphin
This rules so hard ❤️
https://www.status.news/p/the-onion-ben-collins-interview
Jul 8 at 3:21pmWeb
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸Jul 8
@joshsutphin it does, and that's why i'd love to read the whole thing. link?
Show threadlp0 on fire Jul 8
@stevenbodzin @joshsutphin, looks like it's this: https://www.status.news/p/the-onion-ben-collins-interview
Peeling Back The Onion

Ben Collins explains how The Onion is thriving by saying what others won’t—and why human-created satire matters in a media landscape increasingly saturated by noise and A.I. slop.

Status
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸Jul 8

@lp0_on_fire @joshsutphin took me a while but i found it too

thank you

Show threadJosh SutphinJul 8
@stevenbodzin @lp0_on_fire Thanks for catching this. I edited the OP. Apologies for the omission!
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸Jul 9
@joshsutphin @lp0_on_fire all good, it's a good habit to be in. Alt text and links, every time (and yes sometimes I skip them, because I am not always in best behavior)
Show threadThadJul 8

@joshsutphin When the buyout was announced my reaction was "The Onion has been bought out by people who actually like and understand it."

It's a delight every month to see the big white envelope in my mailbox.

Show threadJosh SutphinJul 8
@Thad I somehow missed all of that. I'd been aware of The Onion of course, but never followed it closely, nor subscribed; that may be about to change though!
Show threadThadJul 8

@joshsutphin Here are a couple of good articles from last year:

https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/the-onion-sold-global-tetrahedron-1235982383/

https://www.theverge.com/24225592/the-onion-new-owners-print-newspaper-digital-media-gawker-ben-collins-decoder-interview

The Onion Sold to Global Tetrahedron, Owned by Twilio's Jeff Lawson

The Onion was sold to "Global Tetrahedron," owned by Twilio co-founder Jeff Lawson and led by CEO Ben Collins, former NBC News internet reporter.

Variety
Show threadJosh SutphinJul 8

@Thad Oh, this is like *recent*.

(I mean, okay, it's at least six major epochs in Internet Time, and even in meatspace time last year feels like a decade ago, but still.)

Getting them out from under private equity is real good. This news makes me happy.

Show threadThadJul 8
@joshsutphin AV Club seems to be doing okay too, though they got bought out by a different company and aren't part of the Onion anymore.
Show threadmarmartaJul 8
@joshsutphin what a lovely piece. I wish we-as-society normalized having companies that have as a goal "do a neat thing in a way that allows the people doing the thing to live normal, decent lives". Not accumulate more and more wealth, just: do a neat thing. Have a liveable wage.
Show threadJosh SutphinJul 8
@marmarta I also really appreciate his point about letting the people who do the thing, *do the thing*. Too many companies' upper leadership constantly interfere, instead of letting the experts they hired actually apply their expertise. Applying one's expertise gives joy and fulfillment and self-worth! All of this is (or can be) a virtuous cycle!
Show threadrfJul 8
@joshsutphin something i greatly value is the many years my work ran as a small company as a reference point for how that way of doing things absolutely can work (and profitably!)
Show threadJosh SutphinJul 8

@rf My whole game dev career before 2020 was at small(ish) studios, and they were *so much better* than the big corporate studio I worked for afterward.

My wife and I are running a small press now to get back to this kind of vibe. The corporate world is a mess.

Show threadlemgandiJul 8
@joshsutphin Aright, I am convinced. Just kicked $99 for a hard-copy subscription.
Show threadRobin BartonJul 8
@joshsutphin Very perceptive stance and one I find I support
Show threadnantucketlitJul 8
@joshsutphin My mom had a copy of an Onion omnibus at home when I was a kid. Looking back, I learned a lot about critical thinking and media literacy from reading The Onion. Same goes with Mad Magazine.
Show threadDavid Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🤎🕊Jul 8
@nantucketebooks @joshsutphin O the halcyon days of MAD . We were all so innocent back then. ✊ 😎
Show threadHey GusJul 8
@joshsutphin we are approaching the farmer’s market era of tech and I ain’t sad about it.
Show threadDarren Meyer Jul 8

@joshsutphin this, louder for the folks in the back.

Make good stuff that people actually want and love. You can make money this way.

Show threadPatrick HogenboomJul 8
@joshsutphin Thanks so much for pointing this out! Subscribed :D
Show threadfeldJul 8
@joshsutphin my first good tech job was at a small ISP where my manager was previously a managing editor(?) at The Onion. Dude was great to work for, very funny too.
Show threadJ. "Henry" WaughJul 8

@joshsutphin there was also a great podcast segment about The Onion and their process that I'll never forget:

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/426/tough-room-2011/act-one-1

Make 'em Laff - This American Life

Host Ira Glass spends time in perhaps the toughest room on earth, the editorial meeting at the satirical newspaper, The Onion, where there's one laugh for every 100 jokes.

This American Life
Show thread6DoF Motion5d ago
@joshsutphin This popped for me, RE business, and in my case software development: "You actually can do this, you know. You can just try to highlight the beauty of things you like and not try to vampirically extract value at every step."