AMES, Iowa -- Two writers from the satirical news source The Onion will explore their unconventional approach to covering current events during a multimedia presentation at Iowa State University. Chad Nackers and John Harris will speak at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. "The Onion and the World of Fake News" is free and open to the public.
The Onion began heckling public officials and mocking traditional news media long before the fake news of "The Daily Show." Mock stories have included "Google Announces Plan to Destroy All Information It Can't Index," "Marital Frustrations Channeled through Thermostat" and "Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble to Invest In."
Started in 1988 in Madison, Wis. by two University of Wisconsin students, the tabloid paper has grown to a circulation of 690,000, and launched a companion entertainment paper, a radio network and a daily Web video broadcast.
Staff writer Harris joined The Onion full time in 2007 after writing freelance for the publication for three years. He is a graduate of the University of Rochester. Nackers, a native of Wisconsin, joined The Onion staff in 1997.
"The Onion and the World of Fake News" presentation is part of the National Affairs series: "How Will America Change?" cosponsored by the National Affairs Committee and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.
