National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody

Publication history and physical format

O'Rourke, a National Lampoon editor, conceived the idea for an eight-section newspaper parody on New Year's Day in 1975 while he was snowed in at Lincoln, Nebraska. Stranded with his aunt and his cousin, O'Rourke found himself contemplating local newspaper stories and ads amidst the downtime between football games. Rather than pursuing distractions, O'Rourke meticulously listed various types of stories and advertisements found in the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers, aiming to create a parody using real journalists. Progress was made when the publisher of Newsday in Long Island, arranged a meeting; Newsday managing editor Lou Schwartz emphasized the importance of local hooks in journalism, advising that localized angles drive readership, which informed the parody's approach.

The National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody was released in early January 1978, with the newspaper bearing the date of "Feb. 12, 1978." Like a real Sunday newspaper of that period, it was originally printed in many different sections, some on the paper stock known as newsprint, and some on other cheap paper.

The (originally separate) sections within the newspaper included: National News, Local News, More Local News, Sports Section, Entertainment, Television Listings, Travel, Real Estate, Gardening, Your Pet, Women's Pages, Classified Ads, a "Swillmart Discount Store" Advertising Supplement, a Parade magazine parody, and eight pages of comics.

The Newspaper Parody was reissued, but in book form, in 2004.

Dacron, Ohio

The newspaper's name is the "Dacron, Ohio Republican–Democrat", with the fictional town of "Dacron" being a three-part reference to Akron, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; and to the cheap polyester fabric Dacron. Use of the imaginary city "Dacron, Ohio" links the Newspaper Parody to the National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody because "C. Estes Kefauver High School" was supposedly situated in the same city.

In the newspaper, Dacron is described as "The Motor Home Capital of the World". However, many of the street and location names in the parody actually reference Toledo, Ohio, which was O'Rourke's hometown.

Contents

As described by writer Ellin Stein, "the parody succeeds in creating its own universe through an accumulation of interrelated detail.... [f]rom the classifieds to the obituaries to the movie ads":

The parody also brought readers up to date with characters featured in the National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody (who were now almost 15 years older):

(Kroger, of course, is the college freshman protagonist, played by Tom Hulce, of the comedy movie National Lampoon's Animal House, released in late July 1978, some months after the newspaper parody.)

Notes

References

References

1. STEIN, ELLIN. (June 24, 2013). "John Hughes: How National Lampoon led to 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Ferris Bueller': His '80s movies still define American teendom. It all began with the National Lampoon and Chevy Chase's 'Vacation'". [[Salon.com]].
2. Zito, Tom. (July 5, 1978). "Tickling the Tabloid Truth". [[The Washington Post]].
3. (January 1, 1978). "National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody". National Lampoon.
4. GOODRICH, BARRY. (Nov 2015). "P.J. O’Rourke Talks Political Satire and Writing for 'National Lampoon': The Ohio native discusses growing up in Toledo and his days at 'National Lampoon'". Ohio magazine.