Funny Because It's True by Christine Wenc

6.5 out of 10

A group of Gen Xers started a satirical student newspaper at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.  The staff aged, and the circulation grew off campus.  In 1996, they started a website and rode the dot-com bubble to new heights.  They opened a New York office in 2001.  By the time social media was becoming popular, they were able to capitalize on that upward wave.  Most of the work is now done in Chicago.  Corporate vibes, advertising saturation, and algorithm masters make it difficult to recruit creative employees.  After M&As, The Onion still exists: digital, printed books, movies, short clips, social media posts, etc.