To best make change and to teach an audience about a subject, they must be entertained. The writing must speak to them in a memorable way and relate to their lives and personalities. Satire is an effective way to do this.  

It is a tricky writing style to execute because the message behind an article is interpreted by the person reading it. Satire sends the best message when the person reading it can relate to the article’s content and enjoy the humor presented throughout the piece. The person reading should relate to the message and see themselves through the perspective of the writer. Moreover, when writing satire, the journalist must have an understanding of the audience it is being presented to. 

In addition to drawing the attention of an audience, satire has the power to criticize and challenge political figures. Often, this can incentivize change in administrative or political policies. To spur social change, satire may draw out emotion among the public. Therefore, satirical writing can more effectively draw attention from the subject being criticized.   

There are different types of satirical writing. Some satirical writing is entirely untrue, but it points to rumors, speculations or public discourse through fiction. An example is The Onion — a social media platform that publishes satirical news with a humorous approach to addressing current events. Recent headlines of articles include, “Kamala Harris Appears On White Noise Podcast In Appeal To Sleepy Voters” and “Sabrina Carpenter Completes Mandatory Service In South Korean Military.”  

The Onion’s content to be satirical writing that is created only to entertain and to feed off humor in current events. While funny and relatable to read, The Onion’s articles should not be the golden standard for entertaining journalism. There is a fine line drawn between fictional satirical writing and fake news. I don’t consider The Onion to fall in the category of fake news, but I would consider it to be misinformation, as the articles are inaccurate.  

“The Fullabaloo” is the Tulane Hullabaloo’s satirical issue, with most of the articles being untrue. I am not advocating for this type of untrue, satirical journalism to be practiced more often. Rather, I am advocating for more truthful journalism that is written in an entertaining, satirical manner.  

 When humor, mockery and exaggeration are implemented into writing, without fully obscuring the truth, it can make the article more engaging and relatable to readers. This memorable style of writing might prompt readers to discuss the subject, furthering the chance of change or a movement. While satire is meant to be funny, the main objective behind it is social criticism. 

I encourage students to write satirically to convey a moral message or to critique a higher power. By doing this, they can express their view of society through comedy and absurdity while connecting themselves and their audience to the message.