By Emerald Bensadoun
Fun overlord here:
Welcome to The Eyersonian. If you’ve picked up this year’s parody issue, you’ve probably noticed that it looks suspiciously like (but not to be confused with) the Ryersonian. That’s because we’re parodying them. For real.
Satire, in itself, is really weird if you think about it. Forget about all of your fucking professionalism. Instead of hard news ledes, comedic writing uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to eloquently expose and criticize. And deep down, you know you probably love it.
So, why the Ryersonian? In fact, why does satire matter at all?
In recent years we’ve seen an increase in satirical news consumption all across North America. The Beaverton is rapidly expanding into their second season, The Onion is thriving and CBC Comedy is now an official thing. More and more, humour is becoming personal, with first-person narratives, and witty banter splashing its way across front page news stories.
But, why? Could it be the state of the world we’re living in? Potentially. Could it be that in this complex age of immediate validation, Internet activism, and even more divisive politics—that we could all just really use a good laugh?
Despite what you might think, our decision to parody the Ryersonian did not come from pent up rivalry and malicious intent. Quite frankly, we know we’re hilarious. We don’t need to prove it. We chose the Ryersonian because of what university-run student newspapers represent: a lot of responsibility.
With great power comes great responsibility, and yes, readers, I’m talking to you, too.
We, as student journalists, bloggers, people who like to read—whatever— have a responsibility to inform. To report fairly. To ensure that the content we produce is both thought provoking and accurate—while leaving room for a little bit of fun where we can. If we’re ever going to improve, we need to be able to give and take constructive criticism.
It’s important to remember to laugh at yourself every once in awhile. I wouldn’t take this issue too seriously—we definitely don’t.
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