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I'll toss in my "isn't life weird?" story... When I was at Madison during that time, I applied at one of the 2 student papers to be a sales rep. I went on to b

by jmadsen 13y ago

I'll toss in my "isn't life weird?" story... When I was at Madison during that time, I applied at one of the 2 student papers to be a sales rep. I went on to be the Sales Manager for the paper. The guy I won out the job over decided to start the Onion with his friend. You've never heard of me :-( ---- When they first started, their sales tactic was that the paper was a small tabloid -ize, with the entire bottom 3 inches or so a double-column coupon book. So you just trimmed off the bottom of the weekly issue & went out to the bars/restaurants with it

rfnslyr 13y ago
Man that's something that would stick with you forever. Ugh, not recognizing opportunities in their infancy always scares me.
- AlexDanger 13y ago
  Or, to flip this on its head - remember this tale the next time you miss out on a job to 'the other guy'. Perhaps it will be a trigger for your own personal Onion moment.
- mikeash 13y ago
  Personally, I think he should feel great. There's no guarantee he would have done something so remarkable if he had been the one to lose the job, but he indirectly helped get The Onion started this way.
  - jmadsen 13y ago
    That's the attitude! Personally, I just think it's an interesting story I bore people with at cocktail parties. I think people who are inclined to "start the Onion" tend to do so anyway; he may have done it on the side, or in a slightly different manner, but he would have done something similar. I don't think I really had any direct affect on his life's fate or karma
damncabbage 13y ago
I enjoy reading The Onion. I thank you for your sacrifice. ;)
jmadsen 13y ago
Didn't realize this comment would get so much attention. I'll just add in passing, at this same time, Anthony Shadid was over at the 3rd paper (The Daily Cardinal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shadid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shadid

by jmadsen 13y ago

rfnslyr 13y ago

Man that's something that would stick with you forever. Ugh, not recognizing opportunities in their infancy always scares me.

AlexDanger 13y ago
Or, to flip this on its head - remember this tale the next time you miss out on a job to 'the other guy'. Perhaps it will be a trigger for your own personal Onion moment.
mikeash 13y ago
Personally, I think he should feel great. There's no guarantee he would have done something so remarkable if he had been the one to lose the job, but he indirectly helped get The Onion started this way.
- jmadsen 13y ago
  That's the attitude! Personally, I just think it's an interesting story I bore people with at cocktail parties. I think people who are inclined to "start the Onion" tend to do so anyway; he may have done it on the side, or in a slightly different manner, but he would have done something similar. I don't think I really had any direct affect on his life's fate or karma

damncabbage 13y ago

I enjoy reading The Onion. I thank you for your sacrifice. ;)

jmadsen 13y ago

Didn't realize this comment would get so much attention. I'll just add in passing, at this same time, Anthony Shadid was over at the 3rd paper (The Daily Cardinal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shadid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shadid