Rumor Puts The Onion In Acquisition Talks

The operation known as "America’s Finest News Source" might soon belong to the highest bidder.  A fresh report indicates that The Onion, which has been churning out satirical articles since 1988, could be up for sale.

Ryan Tate wrote, "A tipster says word out of the publication is that it’s in negotiations to sell to a large media company.  It’s not clear how far apart the two sides are; we’re not assuming any deal is imminent."

Unfortunately, not much other information is available at the moment, either; the identity of any would-be acquirer remains unknown, for example, and no prices have been publicly discussed.

But this rumor has a certain weight to it despite the lack of details.  The Los Angeles and San Francisco print editions of The Onion were discontinued in May due to a lack of advertising revenue, and aside from the actual papers, jobs were cut in the process.  So lack of money seems to pose a considerable problem.

Comedy Central’s owner, Viacom, has supposedly made a run at The Onion before, too, so an acquisition attempt wouldn’t be unprecedented.

We’ll stay tuned and hope the resolution of this story doesn’t give fans of The Onion cause to weep.