Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:John Phillips / Stringer / Getty Images
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:John Phillips / Stringer / Getty Images
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
Gadgets
Gaming
Government & Policy
ironware
Layoffs
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
security measures
societal
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
speculation
More from TechCrunch
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Jeff Lawson , the Centennial State - founder and recently quit CEO of enterprise substructure computer software company Twilio , is the proud new owner of satirical on-line newspaper The Onion .
“ Alright , the news program is out — yes , I bought The Onion , ” Lawson wrotein a LinkedIn postlate Thursday , afterit was first reportedin The New York Times .
Terms of the mint were not disclosed .
The Onion , regarded by many as “ America ’s finest newsworthiness source , ” is a digital media mental institution , serve satire by the spoonful for more than three decades , first as a hebdomadal mark edition lead off in 1988 , then as an online electrical outlet from 1996 with the physical publication stop in 2013.Its spoof storieshave often beenconflated with veridical news show , but The Onion has become a staple part of the digital media landscape for its “ alternate ” take on some of the humanity ’s biggest event — some real , otherscompletely made up — spawning memes such as “ Area Man ” while ape the reporting manner of more traditional word electrical outlet .
“Our Dumb Century”
The Onion has counted several owners through the twelvemonth ( Elon Musk wasapparently concerned at one stop ) , including Spanish - language spreader Univision , whichprocured a verify stake in 2016 . It then trade it alongside Gizmodo to individual equity business firm Great Hill Partnersin 2019 , which created a new media holding company calledG / O Media Inc.
Now , The Onion has landed in the hands of a young Chicago - based firm called Global Tetrahedron , which is in fact a reference to a fictional business firm that appears in a satirical book of account published by The Onion staff in 1999 , call “ Our Dumb Century . ”
The brains behind the new Global TetrahedronisJeff Lawson , who co - founded Twilioway back in 2008as a way to avail business organization easy embed communication features , such as SMS and calls , into their apps through an program programing interface ( API ) . The companywent world in 2016at a valuation of more than $ 1 billion , go on to make intimately $ 70 billion during the pandemic — before square up at the $ 10 billion to $ 15 billion marker these past couple of years .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Lawsonannounced back in Januarythat he was step down from Twilio , and he has been on a “ personal goal sideline ” as part of a career disruption since , according to his LinkedIn profile .
But why would Lawson want to buy The Onion ? Well , because he likes it and he has the means to grease one’s palms it .
“ The Onion is an mental hospital , a internal treasure , and we ask it , ” Lawson said in his annunciation post . “ But its success is base on something dissimilar than most media ship’s company . The Onion has been stifled , along with most of the Internet , by byzantine cookie dialogue , paywalls , bizarro paunch fat advertizing , and clickbait substance . And we ’ve had enough . The Internet sucks , and it ’s time we made it better . It ’s metre to focalize on customers — cease users — again . ”
Lawson assures us that more will be coming in the future tense — raw products , new mediums — but for now he ’s asking everyone to pony up some cash for the cause . At the time of penning , The Onion ’s homepageis stick on with “ breaking newsworthiness ” and “ veer ” report that are only about this acquisition , where Lawson is asking those who share his commission to donate exactly $ 1 . For nothing in income tax return .
“ If you care about The Onion , if The Onion ever made you laugh — give us a buck , ” Lawson wrote . “ For that dollar , you get … utterly nothing . Just a self-satisfied sense that you ’ve once again spent less on The Onion than it ’s worth in your life . ”