Every week I'll be here to reveal and review some of my favorite moments from the internet. Whether it be binge-ing television shows, streaming sports or simply getting lost in a YouTube rabbit hole, I'm here to give you my top picks every Friday, as well as the perfect pairing to get into an optimal headspace for them.
This week, we're saying goodbye to our dear friend, satire.
The Onion and Other Beautifully Broken News
Recommended Pairing: A strong spliff and some breath mints.
When my friend Jesse moved to Los Angeles from Denver he brought with him his most beloved collection: boxes full of old issues of the actual Onion newspaper he walked down to grab from a street corner every week. I had never seen or heard of the Onion the first time I hung out at his house. The idea of a fake newspaper covering actual news blew my teenage mind. It was the most brilliant thing I had ever seen. Then when I dug past the headlines into the smaller articles steeped in observational humor and a fresh take on existential dread, I was instantly a fan for life. Sure, we played some video games and tried the occasional round of convincing old dirty guys to buy us beers, but for the most part, our hangs simply consisted of leafing through those old black and white treasures while the Beastie Boys recounted the exploits of a horse named Paul Revere. The '90s were weird.
Here's some of my favorite headlines through the years:
(About a week or two after Anna Nicole Smith dies)
Anna Nicole Smith Finally Reaches Target Weight
Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns
(Two weeks after 9/11)
Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake
Scientists Successfully Teach Gorilla It Will Die Someday
Fun Toy Banned Because Of Three Stupid Dead Kids
Fake news has been a huge part of my life, from the Onion through the Daily Show (with a little "Weekend Update" thrown in there). Over the course of my adult life, I got to watch the rise of satirical news foster a momentum for common sense positions on a wide range of social issues. The rise of 24-hour news programming forced every issue into a debate instead of a thoughtful presentation of the facts. The younger generations were rejecting traditional news outlets and searching for a way to consume information that could hold their interest.
Enter Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert — two lovable scamps that tirelessly eviscerated journalists and politicians for hypocrisy and championed decency, discourse and above all the joy of being knowledgeable.
I honestly believe if Jon had been behind the desk for one more year, the vast majority of America would be pretty jazzed about either our first openly female president or our first openly non-Christian president appointing their transition team. You know, instead of our first openly pussy grabbing president handing the car keys to a known white nationalist.
John Oliver has been doing a fine job at using the satirical news desk as a means to deliver some semblance of journalism to people, but it's too little too late. In an ironic twist, we're slowly learning that "Fake News" may have actually paved the way for one of the most depressing weeks I've had as an adult.
So add the golden age of satirical news to the long list of things I loved that 2016 killed.
#ffff00 Journalism
Recommended Pairing: A spicy yellow mustard eaten directly off of unread newsprint.
Welcome to the all-new, digital age of yellow journalism — Sensationalized news coverage and deliberate make-believe bullshit specifically written to generate clicks, shares, hate and money.
Here's an example of how broken our system for news consumption is:
If you've read this column, you know that my family is staunchly Republican. And although we don't agree on policy, we can usually find ways to talk about issues in a way that could deliver a semblance of compromise that both sides would be happy with. It's safe to say that your typical American conservative is much closer to the center than the loudest on the fringe would have you believe. Same goes with the left of this country.
This current epidemic of targeting fabricated and inflammatory content to specific people based on their political leanings is quite literally tearing the country apart. One of my favorite things I saw online this week was a side by side comparison of the content feeds of "blue" versus "red".
This all but confirms the idea that keeps so many of us frustrated during conversations and debates with people from different ideological leanings — we are literally fighting with entire different swaths of facts, figures and information. And yes, some of it is utter bullshit. No wonder we feel so far apart.
Google has already begun removing payment incentives through their advertising channels for fake news stories, and I hope the folks at Facebook can get their shit together, even though it must be hard for them — on account of the sudden passing of their founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. That's right I saw a post on my Facebook feed, apparently he died of a heart attack. RIP, nerd.
'Til next week.
Wanna see more of my favorite innerwebs finds? You can read the full "Mike's Favorite Things on the Innerwebs" series right here.
from Myspace - Editorial http://ift.tt/2g2NzzK
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