By the way, you can in fact run a media business where people give you money for goods and services. 56k+ people give The Onion ~$100 and we give them a year of newspapers. This business didn’t exist last year in this way. People will pay for good shit. Now’s the time to break glass and go for it.

September 18, 2025 - 01:10 UTC

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I feel that we should boycott all the major media that supports these kind of fascist actions. And simply run sites where comedians and everyone else can say what they want without having some dimwitted politician shut them down with their greed and power.
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See: Dropout and 2nd Try
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Yeah but only those two. No other ones like a satirical news site.
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Defector and Aftermath too! Written words on the web can survive on subscriber dollars.
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What are those
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Dropout is such good value. Gastronauts is sincerely my favorite cooking show out there. I like seeing talented cooks compete in a way that feels like they all get to show off their skills rather than manufactured conflict of other competitive shows.
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Suddenly, subscribing to dropout feels like not only a small joy in my life but also a political act
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Give us liberty or give us links and liberty, please.
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I realize it’s probably a pipe dream, but I keep half-hoping that Kimmel and Colbert have enough connections to Dropout to be convinced to join forces with them and help to build a fully independent comedy empire.
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Dropout my beloved
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Was about to mention Dropout!
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Where’s Mark Cuban?
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Funding right wing shit
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Mr. Onion, you're ok in my book. Which is a book about onions.
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Problem is that the government can shut down the Internet whenever they want ala China, Russia.
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Sounds like a party!πŸ€£πŸ˜‚πŸ˜›πŸ€£πŸ˜‚
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For every time I’ve disagreed with you and given you shit, it’s valuable what y’all did with The Onion
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I'd love it if you crowdfunded a news entertainment organization based around the canceled comedians and writers. I'd subscribe if the reporting itself was solid and not just slop.
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I love getting my paper copy in the mail. Glorious!
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I think Kimmel & Colbert should form a new streamer that exclusively features talk shows. I'd gladly ditch another large streamer to pay for their shows.
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Not talk shows, but if you like independent comedy, try signup.dropout.tv/
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I do it. It works!
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You're going to start a TV channel with @jimmykimmel.com ? AWESOME!
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I did! Happy choice.
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Are you hiring?

Oh wait. Forget it.

Sad day for Isaac.
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The Onion arriving generates more excitement in my teenager than almost anything. He curls up in bed with it and reads it cover to cover chortling the entire time. So worth it.
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Have gifted several family members with Onion subscriptions and always look forward to the new issue arriving. Worth every $$.
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I’ve had a subscription since June. My youngest kid loves reading the headlines to me and I realized how much I missed physical newspapers/magazines.
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Also us iatse weirdos aren't exactly doing it for the money in the first place sooooooo let's go people start some independent studios that aren't just crazysharks
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Just one note.

The onion doesn't provide "good shit."

It provides "great shit."

And it's even better while shitting, IMO.
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This is very true. And if you are looking for hard-hitting, independent journalism focusing on the entertainment industry, may I recommend my newsletter?

toomuchtv.substack.com/p/too-much-tv-we-are-all-jimmy-kimmel
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This!!!!!!
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That Onion is the only truly trustworthy news source
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Go for it, Ben!
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Ty this post inspired me to subscribe
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Luv u dawg
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I have failed at so many magazines tho
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Magazines are collapsing, it may not have been a reflection on you.
I am an unemployed ex-FAANG, ex-etc.
Probably not reflective of my skills.
Probably.
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Netflix for Newsies. You sign up for a one-year subscription for unlimited access to articles and podcasts from a variety of independent media outlets, vetted, with markers showing which items have been fact-checked by the NetNewsies team. Comments and reviews allowed. Buffet-style monthly plans.
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Paging MacKenzie Scott
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It is appropriate to pay money only after seeing the quality of the goods.
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They’ll completely own (if they don’t already) the means of distribution. The Internet rails, access companies, device manufacturers, web dev tools, and even all the platforms.
There is no way to distribute without them.
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Was a birthday gift for my husband this year. We love our Onion.
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The key words here are "People will pay for good shit"

You are incapable of producing good shit, since gaslighting is your primary objective.

The world is passing you by
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Wow sounds like 4chan escaped containment, let's check their profile.

"Trade deficit plummets 42.9% in second quarter under Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs."

LMAO that's not a good thing. Imports being taxed too high for Americans to afford them is not a good thing.

Why do you love taxes?
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I sent The Onion $100 2 weeks ago to subscribe. Looking forward to my first print issue πŸ˜€
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Welcome!
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I just signed up today!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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+1 more subscriber now
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If you guys ever wanna do any FOIA I have some pitches and a new business
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Subscriber (and I bought a t-shirt (Area man)!
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The Onion is also doing the heavy lifting for the media.

Proud to be a subscriber.
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How I’ve missed knowing how my life will go every month without The Onion’s horoscope.

Thank you for returning that to me Mr. Tim Onion!
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it's tough out there for indie journalism though bsky.app/profile/alexip718.com/post/3lz36miguu225
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Heck Yeah!!

This.
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Tim, you’re a great role model.
May there be more Tims out there to jump in right now!
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You may have the last independent media in America unironically
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The last time I felt like this was when Napster and file sharing brought down the traditional record industry. I’m not saying artists don’t deserve to get paid (of course we do), but it was unquestionably an event horizon of opportunity, the best chance in a lifetime to put a new system in place.
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We need a liberal Rupert Murdoch
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Why not ask Oprah. What’s she doing with all that money. But god forbid she get involved.
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Did you guys ever get Info Wars? Turn it into an alternate network and hire Kimmel and Colbert to do well produced visual podcasts! Yeah!
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They should do a parody of Info Wars honestly. Data Fight?
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Excellent idea. Add some of the great investigative work going on as well.
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My Onion subscription is so worth it. Thank you for showing that the end of newspapers and magazines was driven by greed and mismanagement, and thank you even more for restoring the Onion.
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True, but a fragmented media is exactly what fascists love

It then just becomes a low visibility "both sides" system
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It filled my heart with so much joy when you brought the paper back! My folks were subscribers back in the old times, along with Weekly World News. Thanks for helping shape my rational worldviews as a teen!
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Think of the empire Cobert and Kimmel could build together. Would likely never happen, but it would be amazing. Heck, get Stweart in there.
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Too risky

If it fails it’s an embarrassment for them

Also most of their fans would need to hear about it off show so it would be difficult to convert everyone over
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hey tim onion can i have a job
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With you and let’s put a spotlight on those like The Onion who are already doing it.
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Meanwhile Tim Pool gets $100K per video to say that Putin is not that bad actually
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Work together to build new homes where they have no power to evict.
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You had a company that gave away the product for free for 30 plus years and you were able to harness a nostalgia cost from readers. It's a very unique situation.
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People have nostalgia for a satirical paper but not democracy and civil rights.
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Another big platform goes down.
theweek.com/tech/trump-allies-reportedly-poised-buy-tiktok
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Ben, tbf I gave that money to The Onion before I knew what the quality would be. Heck I even gave $5 knowing I would get nothing in return.

But the quality had me happy to renew.
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Appreciate you trying to get people fired up.

Canadians need this energy too.
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@thetyee.ca is also showing how it's done here in Canada.
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@halifaxexaminer.ca is also the lone media voice in Nova Scotia.

I mean, aside from Facebook.
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Global Tetrahedron TV!
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You've worked in TV, you know how much more capital intensive it is, how many people you need, how many regulatory issues there are. Do you think the Onion model is replicable there? I'm sure it is for print and radio, but I'm skeptical about TV.
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People will pay for good shit:
The Onion presents
Jimmy Kimmel STILL live
WOKE with Stephen Colbert
Democracy IF YOU CAN KEEP IT with Seth Meyers
The ANTIFA show with Jimmy Fallon
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I’m willing to invest, call me.
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Defector is a success and the writers seem happy, why arent more media types trying this?
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I just joined!
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So glad I subscribed. I'm all in favor of someone filling that dwindling market. I'm also all in favor of your amazing writers continuing to push the envelope to do everything in their power to absolutely embarrass and shame this loathsome administration. Satire gives you some shelter.
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Vox decisions alone have pushed my independent media purchases up to around $500 this year. This might save me a few bucks if some functional more alternative platforms emerge.
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Hey did you pull the β€œyou to be fired” story from the front page for strategic reasons? Just asking
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I love the Onion! My husband and I fight over who gets to read the paper copies first. I hope we can help amplify this message and get you to >500k subscribers.
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How about a thing where people can donate a subscription to their local public library?
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Do you deliver to Canada? One of the few US products I am okay buying nowadays.
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I just joined their ranks. 🫑
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Bravo, Tim!
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Yes! Substack at $5 a month, 50K subs, $250K a month to run a business.
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Not only can we give money for good content but I'm happy to see informative ads too. I liked the ads in the LA Times growing up, even bought a few things based on those ads.
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Re "People will pay for good shit." – It's incredibly difficult to convince the majority of people to pay for good stuff. Most people are terrible cheapskates that won't even pay $1 per year even if they LOVE a publication and read it every day with eagerness. πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™€οΈ
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I have had folks ask to subscribe to my newsletter. I thought they were being sarcastic, but I do try to bring a fresh perspective to things. Now we can get the sequel to Highway to Heaven we never wanted, staring Charlie Kirk.
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Fuck it, have a little foldin’ money.
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I'm saying it again. The ultimate evolution of the onion will be to Branch out into actual news that is completely irreverent, unbiased and doing the job that the fourth estate is supposed to do

That being said I also look forward to onion TV. Maybe you can get south park after they fully crash out
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If you’re fine being JUST a multi-millionaire, you can be very successful in business in America AND maintain your integrity.
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Yeah but look - with the jet, the yacht, the Mrs, the girlfriend, the kids' Ferraris, and do you have ANY idea how expensive maintenance is on a Bugatti? Morals are Just. Not. Worth it.
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