What’s the largest distinction between Elon Musk and the CEO of The Onion? “I know I’m not funny—and he has no idea,” says Ben Collins, the previous NBC News reporter who purchased the satirical newspaper with Twilio founder Jeff Lawson final yr. In the 12 months since, The Onion has reached new comedian heights—see: viral headlines like “Nation Can’t Believe It on Harvard’s Side”—whereas growing its cultural footprint.
But once more, Collins says, that’s as a result of he’s been sensible sufficient to go away the precise comedy to the specialists. “There are definitely people who would come in here and just be like, ‘I’m the funniest man in the world. Let’s go attack trans people or something. That would be their version of what satire is. Just like, for example, the song ‘The Reason’ by Hoobastank is also technically music, it is not the kind of music that I want to listen to.”
Instead, Collins has targeted on getting The Onion the sources it so desperately wanted, in addition to pruning again the bullshit so the paper’s content material can shine. “We took this thing that was dying a slow internet heat death and turned it into a real newspaper and much bigger business,” he solely tells Vanity Fair. “There was a boner-pill ad shawl that covered all of our content, and you just couldn’t read it. We got rid of all of it. We reset revenue to zero for a month or two while we figured out how to make and ship a paper to tens of thousands of people.”
Collins has expanded the workers from 14 staff to 27; he anticipates hiring eight extra by the tip of the yr. He’s invested sources into video content material, relaunching parody tv information community “ONN” (Onion News Network) on YouTube and—in a surprising transfer for any on-line publication nowadays—he’s additionally introduced again The Onion’s print arm, which initially folded in 2013.
“I’m not saying every newspaper should get back and print immediately. The New York Observer, or whatever the fuck, I don’t think it would behoove them to start doing this shit,” he says. “But we can be super funny in print, and people like getting a nice thing in the mail.” Although he’s fast to assert that, in some methods, he’s simply been fortunate, Collins additionally has a sport plan for constructing a thriving Twenty first-century media model that he’s very happy to share with different publications—ultimately. “We want to help other people get into print soon,” he says. “That’s our plan too. It can’t just be us.”
In a declining trade the place everyone seems to be obsessive about doing extra with much less, Collins’s Onion is legitimately rising. “It’s like a miracle,” he says. “I wish the media didn’t have to collapse for people to have to look at us as a model for making money and being successful, but here we are.”
Below, Collins sits for a protracted chat about leaving NBC News after feuding with Elon Musk, his romantic relationship with aspiring politician Kat Abughazaleh, the standing of The Onion’s try and buy InfoWars, and a lot extra.
Vanity Fair: You had been a reporter at NBC News earlier than changing into CEO of The Onion. What was that transition like for you?
Ben Collins: I was a disinformation reporter. I used to be protecting all these dangerous guys. There was a flip that switched a few years in the past the place I began seeing my bosses pondering, like, Uh oh, he’s going to proceed to report on Elon Musk? This is just not an incredible factor. Everyone may see them shaking their collars out. They had been like, The fascism’s coming, and he’s nonetheless doing this? So it was a bizarre and awkward final yr at my job.
I feel I’ve some modicum of social abilities. I can learn the room. I do know once I’m not welcome there anymore.
Did you’re feeling that they had been doing something to impede your precise journalism?
Oh, dude. I received suspended for being too imply to Elon Musk. And by the way in which, it was for mainly simply reporting on him. It was not something loopy.
After that, I noticed my time on this peacock is brief. When I noticed The Onion was on the market, I noticed that possibly I didn’t must stay my complete life on this doldrumescent hell. I began chasing this factor, and we actually did put it aside from what we might now name AI demise. Or the throes of a decabillionaire who’s fearful about white genocide.