Is ‘The Onion’ having second thoughts?

Some big news from The Onion today. They e-mailed me a press release stating that in New York, one of their eight markets, they will switch to a real-news format starting Nov. 9. The switch is “an experiment, which if successful will result in the gradual transition of all eight regional publications and the Web site to a real-news format.” The reason? Overwhelming competition in the fake news category. “Let’s face it, everybody in America who wants a laugh at the expense of the president or one of his cronies or at just about any cultural phenomenon of the moment turns to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show,” says editor in chief Scott Dikkers.