Farewell, Bat Boy | Salon Life — The crackpot World Weekly News has been supplanted by the Onion with its more obvious humor. In fact the WWN had extremely high-end humor with compelling ideas. I’ve always advised newbie writers regarding headline writing that the WWN was a source of great examples.

I often described my job, without a hint of exaggeration, as “thinking of the stupidest shit possible.” I once pitched a story positing that the U.S. government had data confirming that the one commonality linking all mass killers, including the Columbine shooters, was that they never masturbated. Rather than issue this report, which would save lives but promote onanism, the government preferred to let occasional slaughters take place. My editor rejected it on the grounds that it was “too plausible.”



  1. Rusty says:

    OK, but where will J and K get their information on landing sites?

  2. TIHZ_HO says:

    The funny thing was so many people actually believed the stories!

    Cheers

  3. Blackdan says:

    #1 – Here of course!

  4. Dallas says:

    This is a huge loss for American literature.

  5. Mr. Fusion says:

    All those World Weekly have found employment. Most are are now speech writers for the Republican Party. The rest write copy for Sony and MicroSoft.

  6. Mr. Fusion says:

    $5, ME

    oopps, that should read World Weekly reporters

  7. SN says:

    Back in the 80s when I was in college the WWN filled the same role as the Onion did in its prime. I think pulling the paper from the check-out isle was a good idea. It’s simply the wrong market. However, I would have kept the print edition alive in college markets. That would have broadened their advertising base by a wide margin.

    The thing the Onion (and other parody publications) do is that they occasionally let the veil down to let readers know they’re in on the joke too. If WWN had a problem, it’s that it never did that. I always thought that was their greatest joke of all.

  8. JPD says:

    I’m madder than John Dvorak with an inbox full of spam about this. A great American like Ed Anger out of work. Where’s the justice in this world!!!!

  9. BubbaRay says:

    Horse Sense is gone? Where on this planet will I get my investment advice now? Aww, man!

  10. prophet says:

    When I was a little tyke (way back in the day), I use to ask my dad to buy these for me. He said no, that I had an allowance and that I could buy it myself if I wanted it so bad. I told him that I was too embarrassed to buy something that stupid (but yet intrigued my porr developing mind) and that I would give him the money if he would buy it for me.

    I never did get one of those damn things.

  11. Billabong says:

    My fav WWN headline was “Minister Explodes On Pulpit”.If only it were true.


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