“We never had to take any of it seriously, did we?”

If what we see and hear in the news is a reflection of our lives, shouldn’t it reflect all aspects, even the ridiculous?

Now, by quoting Ayn Rand in “Atlas Shrugged,” I don’t mean to suggest that life, our perceptions of the world and interpretations of it, aren’t worth earnest thought and reflection. On the contrary, our lives are so valuable that we can’t take them too seriously lest we forget the joy of living. Easier said than done, I know. That’s why I need constant promptings scattered throughout my day to take it easy and not get thrown off balance. And since, as you now know, I do enjoy reading the news, what better place to find those reminders of light-hearted humor than in the media?

Isn’t news bleak?

Is she crazy? News “light?” Scan the headlines on any given day and you’ll see more than your fair share of horror. But with some of the tribulations and travesties that occur on a daily basis, you either gotta laugh or cry, you know? That’s why it is so important to alleviate the pressure by laughing at the ridiculousness of what we do.  

Take fake news. It’s one of the hottest trends these days. The success of The Onion, a weekly magazine that parodies current goings-on, and Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show,” a stylishly scathing daily fake news program on Comedy Central, are proof of this development. Not to mention segments such as Weekend Report on “Saturday Night Live” and countless late-night TV monologues lampooning politics and famous personalities.

Fake news scoffs at not only what goes on in the world and how we react to it, but the sources that deliver that news as well, missing no one in its wide scope of satire.

We aren’t making this up

We can’t simply make things up in our newspapers (not to mention the evening news), however, no matter how funny it is. So how is humor and an element of surprise-ability introduced into print? Some in the industry highlight funny or random tidbits in specific sections of the paper. The Age in Melbourne, Australia, has “The Odd Spot” and The Boston Herald features “Offbeat News and Headlines.” These sections include stories about customers who mistakenly call a sex line because of a typographical error in their retail catalogs or NYC subway commuters riding the trains without pants.

The headlines tend to be pricelessly punny and the content is refreshingly out of the ordinary.

Fluffy entertainment news doesn’t figure into the funny factor here. Better to absorb real information by means of a chuckle from a witty headline or a story with an innovative slant. Case in point: The Herald’s article about a promotional Japanese-made butler robot that chills and serves beer, just in time for the Super Bowl. The San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com, meantime, publishes a daily poll on its site where readers can share their opinions about community issues. Almost without fail, a few oddball responses always elicit a giggle or two.

Finding flair

These are both examples of aptly placed humor revealing flair, fun and personality.

Yes, I need reliable and consistent coverage of news, but putting a twist on something normally routine is a wonderful way to bolster readership and gain loyalty. Levity and originality also supply a lovely appeal I like to describe as “talk-about-ability,” providing me the incentive to send articles via e-mail to family and friends for comment. It’s said that smiles are contagious and can be passed along. So is humor.