Much like clean air, parody
is a hard thing to come by here in
--- The Regal Seagull has been running strong for over nine months now,
boldly deciding to spit in the face of authority and charge head-on into making
fun of all the news and local material they can. And considering the volume
material they've already cranked out, it doesn't look like they'll be stopping
anytime soon. I got a chance to chat with founder and editor Ryan Shattuck
about the publication, how it got started, the work they've done so far,
thoughts on local media and a few other topics that came to mind. As you can
see, the discussions were a little... spirited, I believe is a good word. Ryan,
my jaw is doing better, let me know if you're still seeing blood. (Photos
courtesy of Josh Wood Photography)
The Regal Seagull
http://regalseagull.com/
Gavin: Hey Ryan. First off, who do you guys think you are?
Ryan: We are The Regal Seagull:
Gavin: For those who don't know, how would you describe this online rag
you run called The Regal Seagull?
Ryan: The Regal Seagull is a satirical news website, covering
Gavin: Where did the genius idea come from to start it?
Ryan: In 2007 and 2008, I applied to write for The Onion. After
making it to the advanced hiring rounds, I was graciously not given a job. This
happened twice. After the second time of not being hired, I decided to start my
own satirical website, with the difference being that our website would focus
more on
Gavin: How did all you drunks find each other to write it?
Ryan: We all belonged to the same AA group. ...Actually, I found the
writers for The Regal Seagull through a number of different ways. I
found the first several writers simply by posting ads on Craigslist and by
asking friends of mine who were writers if they would be interested. We've
since found other writers who have come across our website, and emailed asking
if they could write for us.
Gavin: Did you know what you were going to do with it, or were you just
experimenting at first to see what worked?
Ryan: Trust me, there was definitely some experimentation. Oh wait,
we're still talking about The Regal Seagull. We knew we wanted to create
a satirical news website, but that was about it. The website has since gone
through a few redesigns, and the format itself has been through a number of
reincarnations. We at first updated only once a week as opposed to every day,
which we do now. We're happy with the current version of it, but it's still
growing and evolving. There are still a few things we'd like to change or add.
Gavin: What was that first month of internet obscurity
like?
Ryan: Kind of like it is now, only it was the first month.
Gavin: Did you think the idea would catch on, or were afraid the subject
matter would be lost on local readers?
Ryan: We didn't actually know whether it would catch on first. The
paradox of writing humor is that you convince yourself that you're simply
writing because you find joy in it and don't care whether anyone else likes
what you're writing or not - while on the other hand, the only way you'll be
successful at writing is by finding an audience who's receptive to your humor.
So while we tried to convince ourselves that we were simply writing for us, we
all obviously hoped it would catch on. The difficult thing about writing humor
in
Gavin: What's this I hear about you guys having fun with gubernatorial
candidate Bob Springmeyer during an election?
Ryan: Last October, The Regal Seagull wrote a story titled "Bob
Springmeyer's wife surprised to learn Bob Springmeyer running for Utah
Governor." A few weeks later, a local news reporter for another
station was interviewing Bob Springmeyer on TV about his campaign for governor.
The reporter asked Bob something along the lines of "I heard that your
wife didn't even know you were running for governor, what can you say to
that?" Bob knew that the guy was referring to us, and said something like
"No, that was a fake story from The Regal Seagull.”
Gavin: Is it difficult staying topical or do the bigger idiots in town
make things easier for you?
Ryan: It's pretty easy to stay topical,
although we've since broadened our scope of satire. For maybe the first six
months we decided to specifically stay Utah-only. We realized after some time
though that if a website wishes to expand and grow, it has to appeal to as many
people as possible. While we continue to “cover”
Gavin: Do you hate being compared to The Onion, or do you take it
as a badge of honor?
Ryan: Are you kidding? Does the Pope like being compared to Jesus? We've
occasionally been accused of ripping off the idea of satirical news from The
Onion, to which we reply "thank you." Ironically, about six
months ago The Onion used a story that I had actually sent them as part
of my application, so perhaps it's The Onion who's being compared to The
Regal Seagull. I assume they're jealous of our dozens of readers.
Gavin: You recently opened up an online store to cash in on it. How has
that been going for you, and what do you have available?
Ryan: Our online store so far hasn't seen a huge amount of success, so
we're probably going to scrap all The Regal Seagull merchandise and
start selling Obama collector's plates. And ShamWows.
Gavin: ShamWow?! Ohhh! Put me down for two. A little state-wide, what's
your take on local publications, both good and bad?
Ryan: We'd prefer to not name names, but there are good publications
which we read every day, and then there are bad publications out there which do
a better job at embarrassing the state than Chris Buttars does. I do however
think that
Gavin: Any specific ones you love to death or hate with a passion?
Ryan: As I mentioned, we prefer to not name names. But if Gayle Ruzicka
published a weekly newsletter for the Utah Eagle Forum, I would buy 50
subscriptions.
Gavin: More nation-wide, what's your take on parody sites in general?
Are they up to par or are they just poorly conceived?
Ryan: A lot of websites out there are pretty clever. I also think many
satire and parody sites out there are terrible and poorly conceived, and yet
continue to be ridiculously successful.
Half of
Gavin: Do you believe its easier in the internet age to be a writer, or
is there just a bigger influx of bad material to sift through to find the gold?
Ryan: Wow, isn't that the question of the ages. Or at least the question
of today. The internet has certainly been both a blessing and a curse, because
it's much easier to be discovered - just look at anyone who's found fame
through a blog or YouTube. At the same time, the internet has given a voice to
every idiot with a computer and an opinion. The goal of course in writing in
the internet age, is to be more "diamond," and less
"rough."
Gavin: What can we expect from you guys the rest of the year? Besides
unemployment.
Ryan: We'd prefer to not reveal all our cards at once, but we're planning
a podcast, weekly videos, and possibly even a live event at some point this
year. We're also really bad at poker, so we won't reveal any more cards than
that.
Gavin: And finally, are there any plugs or death threats you'd like to
make public?
Ryan: We don't have any plugs or death threats, but we do have a wish:
We wish, like every other humor writer in this state, that Chris
Buttars will continue to live and say things until he's 104.
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