Chicago-based satirical news outlet The Onion has revived its print publication — after moving completely online in 2013 — with the debut of a 16-page special edition highlighting the Democratic National Convention . The front page story features the headline: “Tim Walz Unveils New Retro-Futurist Persona After Feeling Boxed In By Folksy Image,” with a photo of the Democratic vice presidential candidate in a silver spacesuit-like outfit with light bulbs. Another front-page story declares that The New York Times “ceased publication” because the “struggling” newspaper simply couldn’t “compete with The Onion’s newly relaunched print edition.
” There’s also a mock interview with Vice President Kamala Harris who said in response to a question about her favorite book, “If I don’t say Becoming, Michelle will pull her endorsement. But really it’s The Audacity Of Hope.” Much of the special issue focuses on the upcoming elections, politics and hot-button issues.
The outlet relaunched its print edition as part of a larger plan to diversify revenue streams, after its new owners purchased the company in April . Workers wearing The Onion T-shirts handed out the “Chicago DNC Edition” this week along Michigan Avenue and near hotels and venues where DNC attendees are congregating. More than 50,000 delegates, media and other visitors are expected to attend the convention this week, which wraps up Thursday.
“Our beautiful new website was coming to fruition, we wanted to launch a print edition this fall, and the DNC — filled with the exact folks who deserve to read the most important news of the day — was in our backyard,” The Onion’s Chief Marketing Officer Leila Brillson said in an email. “ This perfect storm allowed us to do the DNC in our own unique way, and while we had a captive national audience, too.” Brillson declined to specify how many issues of The Onion’s DNC paper were printed.
“We are printing on demand, and let me tell you ...
demand has been tremendous,” she said. The issue featured tips for DNC attendees such as a list of must-try food, which included a reference to Chicago’s signature hot dog fixings: “Chicago-Style Pigeon: No Chicagoan would be caught dead eating a flattened pigeon off the ground without mustard, relish, onions, tomato, sport peppers, a pickle spear and celery salt.” A map of the “DNC convention center” indicated stables where President Joe Biden’s body doubles are held.
Visitors “can even feed them an apple for 50 cents!” according to the map. The Onion’s monthly print edition is available through a new membership program. Readers can subscribe on the outlet’s website.
The Onion is offering 12 monthly print issues at a promotional rate of $60, including home delivery, until Aug. 31. Monthly subscribers pledging more than $5 can get print delivery.
The Onion said the print edition is “a return to the tactile, back-to-basics format our most loyal readers have refused to shut up about, and it’s an inspiration to an entire profession that had, until now, totally lost its way.” “While the print edition of The Onion will be available only to paying subscribers, the digital version will remain completely free of charge until such time as upper management has the desire to gorge itself on additional revenue,” The Onion said in a statement. The recently-formed company Global Tetrahedron bought The Onion from G/O Media for an undisclosed sum.
Global Tetrahedron is a fictional company in The Onion’s 1999 book “Our Dumb Century.” The owners include ex-tech CEO Jeff Lawson; Ben Collins, The Onion’s new CEO and former NBC News disinformation reporter; Brillson, previously a marketer for TikTok; and Danielle Strle, former product director of Tumblr. Like many media outlets, The Onion faces the daunting challenge of becoming financially sustainable.
For more than two decades, media companies have been decimated by a loss of subscribers and advertising revenue. Brillson told the Sun-Times in May that The Onion’s previous owners pigeonholed it as a website rather than a strong multimedia brand with books, a social media presence and a big potential for merchandise, live events and partnerships. Self-described as “America’s Finest News Source,” it was founded in 1988 by two University of Wisconsin-Madison students, initially as a print publication.
The paper moved to New York City in 2000 then relocated to Chicago in 2012..
