Satire has shaped the way I view news

I’ve never really felt like my time here at The Collegian has been a job. While yes, I do get paid for it, and yes Kayleigh would have yelled at me if I ever decided not to do my work, I rarely felt coerced into working either from the prospect of money, or the fear of reprimand.

Every Sunday was more like hanging out with an odd group of friends than an obligation I had to fulfil. It’s like we set aside this time for the purpose of getting together, telling dumb jokes and making fun of one another, in a friendly way of course.

That isn’t to say I didn’t take my work seriously. The State-Run Media is a very serious publication. Despite knowing about every single typo that we ever put in print (mostly my fault), I’m proud of the section I’ve produced this year. I think one of the hardest things about leaving is going to be giving up my title of Head Propagandist. It’s a title that one gets a bit too used to seeing under their name.

My experience with my writers has similarly been a pleasure. Thinking of article ideas is actually one of the most difficult aspects of this position so seeing my writers resonate with one is very rewarding. Their wit and talents always produces articles completely different to, and usually better than, what I had imagined. They made my job as satire editor so much more enjoyable.

I learned a lot in my time here as well. About language and writing. About humor and satire. I think the most valuable skill I learned from this is how to look at the news through the eyes of a satirist. This may sound silly but I think this is the way everyone should consume news. Trying to find the absurd and the humorous forces one to notice the flaws and injustices and biases which unfortunately exist in news. It also reveals journalism which actively fights against the flaws of news, as these tend to be harder to satirize. This has taught me to discern which stories are important and which are not. It taught me how the ways stories are told manipulate their interpretation.

I guess my lofty ideal as a satire editor is that I’ve taught my readers and writers how to better read news stories as well. I hope I’ve taught at least someone how to find the absurd, the ironic, and the ridiculous in everyday life. Failing this, I hope you at least thought I as funny.

I first walked into the Collegian office my freshman year thinking I’d just be occasionally taking pictures at sports games to make some quick cash. Now I’m leaving it as the Satire Editor and realizing the paper became a massively important part of my life. Risking making a “the real Collegian is the friend I made along the way” meme, I’m realizing now that the reason I love this publication so much is because of the people here. Our editors, staff and writers have talents in and passions for journalism, art and culture, discourse, sports, graphic design, publication, and satire which makes it possible to both produce a high-quality student newspaper and have fun while we do it.

Thank you to all my writers for producing amazing satire. Thank you to the other editors for dealing with my stupid jokes. Thank you to Bryant for fixing my terrible grammar and spelling.Thanks to Brian for keeping us paid. Thank you to the distribution managers for literally spreading the word. Thank you to Hannah for making sure my mom has access to all my weird articles. Thank you to Madeline and Connor for taking my crazy graphic ideas and making them amazing. Thank you to Kayleigh and Michaela for just dealing with my shit in general. Thank you to all of the State-Run Media’s readers for thinking I’m at least a little bit funny.

Post Author: Adam Lux