(From Article Students Mistake Beacon Article For Real News)
Bacon: Thank you for letting us interview you, Mr. Mercadante. We know you have a busy schedule, and we only have a few questions.
Mercadante: No, thank you for having me. I don’t care how long it takes – I want to let the students and faculty know what we’re really about.
Bacon: Yes, that’s why we’re here.
Mercadante: Ask away.
Bacon: Okay. There was some controversy over a recent article you published, in this past Monday’s issue. What was The Beacon really trying to say with that article? I mean, the title alone speaks volumes: “FIU Faculty are The Devil Incarnate.” What do you have to say about the article?
Mercadante: Oh, that? Well, you have to understand something about us first; we are a satirical publication. Everything we print is essentially made up. You know?
Bacon: Really? It’s not made apparent by your title, or anywhere in your publication. We were under the impression that your publication was a real news source, and has been so for years.
Mercadante: Yeah! [laughs] Nope! If you look closely, at the bottom of every page we have a small disclaimer. Oh man, If I had a nickel for every time someone thinks our articles are real news, I’d probably be a millionaire. [laughs]
Bacon: Wow. We didn’t notice that. It was not apparent to us, apparently we’re now FIU’s only legitimate news source. That’s refreshing.
Mercadante: It’s really been one of our biggest problems, this whole “are you satire or serious” thing.
Bacon: I’m still curious, was there any truth to that article?
Mercadante: Well, yes, if you count that we used real names and places. But other than that, everything was pulled out of thin air.
Bacon: Oh, I see then. So the section of the article that reads, “Then Dr. Camache said, ‘Students! Students! that’s all I ever hear about! We’re a g—— university, not a daycare! I’m more concerned with the budget than what these students need – more like what they want! Those m—– f—— spoiled brats!’”
Mercadante: You see, you have to understand the point of satire. It is not about ruining people’s images by printing libel. No. It’s about using a set of facts and turning them on their head. That way you hold the people or organization up for ridicule by either saying the opposite of what they do, or by channeling their actions, via hyperbole, through a fictional scenario. It is social commentary.
Bacon: But that is kind of strong. I mean, not everyone gets satire. Some people don’t even know the meaning of the word.
Mercadante: Yeah, and those are the people you see going around saying they love Stephen Colbert because he’s such a great conservative pundit. And those same people are posting Onion articles on their news feeds in Facebook and complaining about them as if the stories are real.
Bacon: So then, what’s the purpose of printing social commentary in the form of fake news, when many, if not all, students will believe it to be actual news anyway?
Mercadante: Look, it makes readers aware of shortcomings one way or another. It’s essentially a funny way of doing constructive criticism.
Bacon: Could you explain that a little more?
Mercadante: Okay. If people think it’s real, it’s not our fault. In fact it may just be doing its job that way. Besides, the articles published in The Beacon are so ridiculous, one would conceivably have to be missing crucial mental faculties to think it’s real news at all.
Bacon: But people are confusing it with real news nonetheless. Does that bother you and your staff at all?
Mercadante: In some ways no and in other ways yes. But for the most part, it’s hilarious to see people seriously discussing articles that are so far fetched they couldn’t possibly be real. It makes us proud, in a way, to see our fake news is taken seriously by some. But it frustrates us when other people consider our efforts fruitless, and meaningless.
Bacon: What would you say to the latter group?
Mercadante: Well, those people that hate what we do are usually the ones at the butt of the joke. They get angry at the realization that satire gives them – or they just don’t get it and it makes them angry that everyone else does and they don’t. And then there are the ones who think it’s real. They try and tell their smarter friends about it, and those friends immediately dismiss it because they know it’s satire. So that person who has now been made aware that it is fake, gets angry that they didn’t get it to begin with.
Bacon: What do you think the overarching problem is with regards to misunderstanding satire in the form you present it in The Beacon?
Mercadante: People need to learn how to read. And I mean really read, not just pick three words out of an article’s title, or go on a rant based on the excerpt of an article they skimmed.
Bacon: How many people do you think will read this exposé on The Beacon and understand what you are trying to say?
Mercadante: Probably only a precious few. Those are our biggest fans, and they tend to be much more with it than the general populace.
Bacon: Well, thank you very much for your time Mr. Mercadante. We hope our legitimate reporting can open up some to the realm of literary analysis, be they students or faculty and staff.
Mercadante: Don’t get your hopes up, it is FIU after all. But, again, thank you for having me. I look forward to reading the article.
