The Onion, 2015 Humanist Media Awardee Bringing Tears (of Laughter) to Our Eyes since 1988
We hope you’re ready for the 74th Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association, because with all of our great award winners this year, we couldn’t be more excited!
Have you ever read a headline and thought, “That can’t be real!” Or perhaps you’ve watched the news and said, “is this really news?” That’s precisely what the folks who started The Onion had so often thought, so they decided to turn the news into a parody of itself. So for all their hard and hilarious work, we’re awarding his year’s Humanist Media Award to the award-winning publication, The Onion.
The Onion is a world-renowned satirical publication that was started in 1988 by University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson. After gaining popularity in major-university towns and then on the Internet with the launch of its website in 1996, The Onion has since become an unmistakable pop culture entity, cleverly appealing to the humorous side of humanity and amplifying the absurdity of today’s media. This will be the first time the American Humanist Association has given an award to an entire publication. (The AHA has twice honored radio stations, Pacifica Radio Foundation in 1992 and WWNZ Radio Orlando in 1990.)
Accepting the Humanist Media Award on The Onion’s behalf is Seena Vali, a senior writer and sports editor for the publication. A mathematics major turned satirical writer who apparently “still harbors aspirations of one day spearheading The Onion‘s thermonuclear weapons program.,” Vali promises to bring his all-star wit and sarcasm to Denver. Don’t miss Seena Vali and all the charm of The Onion at this year’s AHA conference in Denver, May 7-10.
Can you tell an Onion article from a real news headline?
Click here to take our quiz and find out!