Scott Dikkers, Founder of The Onion will present, “The Funny Story Behind the Funny Stories” at 7:30pm on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 in the Nebraska Union Centennial Room. The event, sponsored by the University Program Council, is free for University of Nebraska–Lincoln students with a valid NCard and $5.00 for faculty, staff, and public.
“Scott Dikkers tells the tale of his beginnings in comedy and getting The Onion started, and shares funny stories about how he struggled in the early years, and then achieved great success. As a farm boy with no education, he'll paint the picture of a starry-eyed kid who loved reading Mad Magazine and dreamt of one day getting his work published to improbably founding the world's first humor website and heading up America's longest-surviving humor publication. Dikkers connects his experience to the college audience's lives by pointing out how much more opportunity they have to start something new like The Onion today, explaining that this is a magical time in their lives when they can make just about anything happen for themselves.”
Scott Dikkers captivates audiences with his story of dropping out of college and starting a fake newspaper, which turned into the world's very first humor website, The Onion.com. Today, it is one of the most popular humor destinations in the world, with millions of readers and social media followers.
Dikkers is The Onion's longest-serving editor-in-chief, and the godfather of its unique comedic vision. In 2006, he created The Onion News Network, which has spawned countless viral videos and three TV series. He's the best-selling co-author of The Onion's first two original books, Our Dumb Century and Our Dumb World. His work has won the Thurber Prize for American Humor, a Peabody, and over 30 Webby Awards.
Before starting The Onion, Dikkers wrote and drew the successful daily comic strip "Jim's Journal." He has written and directed two feature films and performed on Saturday Night Live. His eclectic life and rollercoaster career makes for a lot of hard-won wisdom and outrageous stories about life on the fringes of the do-it-yourself entertainment business that is sure to have you teary-eyed with laughter.
More details at: http://involved.unl.edu/