If you’re just an occasional viewer of Ellen Degeneres’s talk show, maybe you’ve been fooled, hood-winked, tricked or pranked. For just a moment anyway. Often, in the middle of a show, a “Breaking News” graphic flashes on the screen accompanied by urgent, scary-sounding music. From a news desk, a reputable-looking news anchor looks into the […]
If you’re just an occasional viewer of Ellen Degeneres’s talk show, maybe you’ve been fooled, hood-winked, tricked or pranked. For just a moment anyway.
Often, in the middle of a show, a “Breaking News” graphic flashes on the screen accompanied by urgent, scary-sounding music.
From a news desk, a reputable-looking news anchor looks into the camera and in all seriousness, tells you that “mimosas are really breakfast alcohol, it’s not juicing, stop kidding yourself.”
Or that Uber drivers should go easy on the personal body spray.
Regular viewers of Ellen know it for what it is: a spoof of universal truths disguised as breaking news.
While the news may be fake, the news anchor is real enough to have won a prestigious Edward R. Murrow award. He’s Devin Scillian, a 20-year veteran of Detroit’s WDIV, the NBC affiliate owned by Graham Holding Group.
“You know, I can work for months on a one-hour special about Cuba,” says Scillian, laughing, “and not hear from anybody. But one joke ‘breaking news’ segment and I hear from people I went to middle school with.”
Scillian says the Ellen people would prefer if he not spill too many beans about how the segments started or any other details.
I understand the preference for mystery — it adds to the effect.
I did find out some facts from a published report, but I like Ellen, (who doesn’t?), so go find it yourself.
”I never know when another one comes along, but I hope they continue,” Scillian says.
This breaking news story just in: they’re funny.
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