Ed Anger
Encyclopedia
Ed Anger is a pseudonymous opinion columnist in the Weekly World News
, a former U.S. tabloid, now a web site. In addition to weekly columns, a collected book of his writings, Let's Pave the Stupid Rainforests & Give School Teachers Stun Guns: And Other Ways to Save America was published in 1996.
Klinger sued the Weekly World News in 1990, claiming that they had no right to continue publishing columns by Anger after Klinger had departed from the paper. A federal court ultimately ruled against Klinger in 1994, prompting the writer to respond in the style of Anger with the remark, "I'm pig-biting mad."
In 2002, the Weekly World News temporarily closed its website, weeklyworldnews.com, leaving only a message from Anger on the front page. In the missive, Anger threatened that the web content would not reappear until more of the site's readers started buying the printed edition of the tabloid. Kevin Hyson, vice president of the Weekly World News's parent company American Media, subsequently confirmed that the message was a prank designed to broaden the paper's subscriber base. To the contrary, circulation had declined from 328,000 in 2000 to 275,000 in 2001.
Weekly World News. The story arc is called "The Irredemption of Ed Anger."
described Anger's opinions as "so vitriolically right-wing that [they] possibly came from the left":
Despite their extremism, Anger's columns were one of the more mainstream elements of the WWN during Clontz's editorship and found a loyal audience, especially in the more conservative and rural areas of the United States.
Anger often begins his columns "I'm madder than...", followed by such phrases as "a monkey with a rotten banana" or "a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest". These introductions were later lampooned by John Boy and Billy
with their "Mad Max" character, who like Anger, is portrayed as an "angry right-winger", and the opening phrase is remarkably similar to that of another fictional character, radio commentator Earl Pitts
.
Weekly World News
The Weekly World News was a supermarket tabloid published in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have become...
, a former U.S. tabloid, now a web site. In addition to weekly columns, a collected book of his writings, Let's Pave the Stupid Rainforests & Give School Teachers Stun Guns: And Other Ways to Save America was published in 1996.
History
The identity was created by Weekly World News writer Rafael "Rafe" Klinger in 1979. Anger's columns were written by the paper's editor Eddie Clontz from approximately 1990 until Clontz's departure in 2001. After Clontz' retirement, other members of the paper's staff continued penning columns under Ed Anger's name. In June 2004, Justin Mitchell outed himself as one of the subsequent writers, stating that he was the fourth man to assume the identity in print.Klinger sued the Weekly World News in 1990, claiming that they had no right to continue publishing columns by Anger after Klinger had departed from the paper. A federal court ultimately ruled against Klinger in 1994, prompting the writer to respond in the style of Anger with the remark, "I'm pig-biting mad."
In 2002, the Weekly World News temporarily closed its website, weeklyworldnews.com, leaving only a message from Anger on the front page. In the missive, Anger threatened that the web content would not reappear until more of the site's readers started buying the printed edition of the tabloid. Kevin Hyson, vice president of the Weekly World News's parent company American Media, subsequently confirmed that the message was a prank designed to broaden the paper's subscriber base. To the contrary, circulation had declined from 328,000 in 2000 to 275,000 in 2001.
Pop-culture references
Ed Anger is the main character in the IDW Comics limited seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Weekly World News. The story arc is called "The Irredemption of Ed Anger."
Writing style
The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
described Anger's opinions as "so vitriolically right-wing that [they] possibly came from the left":
Anger hated foreigners, yoga, whales, speed limits and pineapple on pizza; he liked flogging, electrocutions and beer.
Despite their extremism, Anger's columns were one of the more mainstream elements of the WWN during Clontz's editorship and found a loyal audience, especially in the more conservative and rural areas of the United States.
Anger often begins his columns "I'm madder than...", followed by such phrases as "a monkey with a rotten banana" or "a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest". These introductions were later lampooned by John Boy and Billy
John Boy and Billy
John Isley and Billy James, known as John Boy & Billy, named after "John-Boy Harris and brother Bross Harris", are American radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program The John Boy & Billy Big Show broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m...
with their "Mad Max" character, who like Anger, is portrayed as an "angry right-winger", and the opening phrase is remarkably similar to that of another fictional character, radio commentator Earl Pitts
Earl Pitts (radio character)
Earl Pitts is a fictional character performed by Gary Burbank, a radio personality from Cincinnati, Ohio.Pitts, who is almost always referred to as "Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun" is a stereotype of a redneck from the Southern United States...
.
External links
- An archive of Anger's columns at the Weekly World News website.