The Gonzo
Encyclopedia
The Gonzo is an undergraduate satire/humor publication founded in 1993 at Georgetown University
in Washington, DC.
Published on an irregular basis between 1993 and 1998, The Gonzo was inspired by both the philosophy and writing of Hunter S. Thompson
and on other college humor publications like The Onion
and the Harvard Lampoon
. The first issue of The Gonzo was sent to Hunter S. Thompson, wrapped around a bottle of Chivas Regal. The barely legible reply faxed back read "Ye Fucking Gods, Those Jesuit Bastards Will Eat You Alive!" The editorial staff of The Gonzo interpreted this as an endorsement of the publication.
The first editor-in-chief of The Gonzo and its founder is Richard Diefenbeck, Jr., a continuing education student at Georgetown University
who went on to write for Andrei Codrescu and created the first picture blog ever at Dr. Menlo Blogs From Space!. His successor, Shlomi Raz, ran the publication between 1994-1996 and now is currently employed at an investment bank. Dan Alamariu co-ran the paper with John Mathiesen during 1996. Finally, John Mathiesen co-ran the publication with Micah Sachs until its final issue in 1998.
In the late 90s, Gonzo editors published a lampoon edition of The Hoya
, Georgetown's school newspaper, with the headline "Father O'Donovan Found Dead," referring to the then President of the University. The fake edition was so similar in appearance to the actual paper that it convinced many on campus that the President had actually died. Closer inspection of the edition—the weather report indicated "hellfire," -- showed it to clearly be a lampoon.
Justin Hall
, pioneer blogger, listed The Georgetown Gonzo and said of it, "I believe this was the first college humour magazine published online."
The original tagline to The Gonzo (penned by Diefenbeck aka "Homer"), launched in 1993, was "The Most Important Paper in the World". The Daily Show tagline, from 1996 to September 11, 2001: "The most important television program...ever."
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, DC.
Published on an irregular basis between 1993 and 1998, The Gonzo was inspired by both the philosophy and writing of Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
and on other college humor publications like The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
and the Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
. The first issue of The Gonzo was sent to Hunter S. Thompson, wrapped around a bottle of Chivas Regal. The barely legible reply faxed back read "Ye Fucking Gods, Those Jesuit Bastards Will Eat You Alive!" The editorial staff of The Gonzo interpreted this as an endorsement of the publication.
The first editor-in-chief of The Gonzo and its founder is Richard Diefenbeck, Jr., a continuing education student at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
who went on to write for Andrei Codrescu and created the first picture blog ever at Dr. Menlo Blogs From Space!. His successor, Shlomi Raz, ran the publication between 1994-1996 and now is currently employed at an investment bank. Dan Alamariu co-ran the paper with John Mathiesen during 1996. Finally, John Mathiesen co-ran the publication with Micah Sachs until its final issue in 1998.
In the late 90s, Gonzo editors published a lampoon edition of The Hoya
The Hoya
The Hoya, the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, was founded in 1920. The Hoya prints an edition every Tuesday and Friday during the academic year and has a circulation of 6,500...
, Georgetown's school newspaper, with the headline "Father O'Donovan Found Dead," referring to the then President of the University. The fake edition was so similar in appearance to the actual paper that it convinced many on campus that the President had actually died. Closer inspection of the edition—the weather report indicated "hellfire," -- showed it to clearly be a lampoon.
Cultural Impact
"Every time you masturbate… God kills a kitten" originally appeared as the cover of The Gonzo in 1996 and has been used extensively since its rediscovery in 2002 .Justin Hall
Justin Hall
Justin Hall , is an American freelance journalist who is best known as a pioneer blogger , and for writing reviews from game conferences such as E3 as well as the Tokyo Game Show....
, pioneer blogger, listed The Georgetown Gonzo and said of it, "I believe this was the first college humour magazine published online."
The original tagline to The Gonzo (penned by Diefenbeck aka "Homer"), launched in 1993, was "The Most Important Paper in the World". The Daily Show tagline, from 1996 to September 11, 2001: "The most important television program...ever."
External links
- The Georgetown Gonzo (via archive.org