The Onion Story: How a Band of Misfits, Dropouts, and Sad Sacks Built the World's Most Trusted News Source

"Dikkers' comedic voice, so integral to creating the distinctive Onion style, lends to a mixture of journalistic verve and an authentically confessional account of long nights and betting on your own talents. Fans of The Onion will relish revisiting some of its best stories and headlines while witnessing its constant reinvention as the media landscape itself continues to evolve." --Booklist

The founder of TheOnion.com and longest-serving editor-in-chief regales readers with never-before-told anecdotes from the beloved satiric newsroom in this celebration of creativity, resilience, and the transformative power of jokes--delivered in AP style.

In this laugh-out-loud origin story of a world-renowned satirist and "America's Finest News Source" Scott Dikkers treats you to a rollicking trip through the 80s, 90s, and 00s, chronicling the inception, evolution, and success of The Onion from his view at the helm. With his famous wit and wisdom Dikkers chronicles the paper's founding, run-ins with the law, scrapes with death, and raving-mad antics of its staff in chapters like:

Childhood Trauma Mined for Cheap Laugh Hurriedly Collected Life Savings Invested Wisely Stop Put to All This Horseplay Award-winning Local Author Inspired, Drunk Look, Area Man on TV Office Internet Briefly Used for Work

If you've ever been duped into believing an Onion headline, or simply laughed to avoid crying at how closely its fake news articles resembled reality, get a first-person view from the mastermind himself of the publication's unparalleled legacy as the world's most trusted news source, celebrated for its fearless commitment to truth-telling under the guise of satire.

Author: Scott Dikkers
Publisher: Matt Holt Books
Published: 10/28/2025
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 9.13h x 5.98w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9781637747513


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2025
Library Journal 09/01/2025 pg. 84
Booklist 09/01/2025

About the Author
Widely regarded as one of the most influential pioneers in comedy history, Scott Dikkers is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, comedy writer, comedian, and founder of TheOnion.com. His visionary leadership at The Onion, his groundbreaking comic strip Jim's Journal, plus his multiple Top 10 comedy podcasts have garnered him tens of millions of fans all over the world. Rolling Stone named him one of its Top 10 favorite writers. Entertainment Weekly designated him "the funniest person in America" and placed him on the "It List" of the hottest celebrities in show business. He graced the cover of Time magazine (as an incredibly tiny dot in a photo mosaic), which named him one of the Top 50 movers and shakers online. Scott's books on the craft of humor, the How to Write Funny series, have taught the craft of comedy to hundreds of thousands of aspiring comedians and comedy writers around the world. His students have gone on to win Emmys, Grammys, and Oscars.