AOW 26

Congressman Hurt to Discovor Lobbyist Not Really His Friend

The Onion

Source: It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news. The Onion's articles comment on current events, both real and fictional. It parodies such traditional newspaper features as editorials, man-on-the-street interviews. Web traffic on theonion.com amounts to some 7.5 million unique visitors per month.

Summary: A satirical article about the relationships between lobbyists and our congressmen, the piece creates a fictional heartbreak about Rep. Bobby Shilling who recently discovered that his lobbyist friend Stephen Fischer was only using him. It turns politics into something similar to a small high school relationship, showing the naïve faith of the government in the honesty of those lobbying. The article highlights telltale signs that should have warned the representative that the relationship was one sided: Fischer genuinely seemed interested in soybean crop insurance, deep sea fishing, and his friend’s position on House Agricultural Committee. After the relationship is revealed as false, Shilling’s despondent and depressed nature highlights the dependent nature of the congressmen on their lobbyist buddies. At the end, a colleague says, "One day he'll form a good, long-lasting friendship with a health insurance corporation or oil company that truly appreciates him and supports him as much as he supports it. All of us eventually do."

Analysis: Lobbying has always been rigorously debated topic in politics, or a government body untainted by the desires of corporations. The purpose is to bring the nature of this relationship to life and, of course, make fun of it. The audience of the onion is primarily between the ages of 18-45, and the style of the article (geared towards women or anyone who watches chick flicks) reflects this knowledge.

Devices:
Satire: This website, and thus article, has been chosen by readers because of its satirical approach to modern conflict. It reflects a knowledge of the situation without boring the reader, thus keeping its popularity the readers’ interest.
Common Knowledge: What makes the article funny is that it is a political version of a completely overdone cliché. The funny, captivating, an rich older man uses the eager and young optimist to reach his ends, then severs the connection completely leaving the other confused and devastated. We’ve seen everything before, but never in this context. By changing the ratios (Burke’s Pentad) the author turned a boring plot through a hilarious twist.
Pathos: One not only feels sad for the congressman, but for themselves for having elected such a naïve and shallow representative in such an important position.