3rd annual News Wrecker pokes fun at Amelia Island

Submitted by Dave Scott
May 3, 2017 10:00 p.m.

A pickle harvest celebration replacing Shrimp Festival and Amelia Island being selected by the federal government as a site to store its nuclear waste are two of the “news” stories in the third annual edition of the Amelia Island News Wrecker, a satirical tabloid newspaper that is being distributed this week..

The free 24-page tabloid News Wrecker is available in island pubs, restaurants, businesses and selected shops and other establishments says editor and publisher Dave Scott, a Fernandina Beach resident who also writes the weekly www.davescottblog.com. An online version of the News Wrecker will be available mid May.

The tag line for the paper is “Amelia Island’s sacred cows make the best burgers” and according to Scott: “Its purpose is to generate laughs without resorting to obscenities and vulgarity. “The only thing I can be accused of is bad taste, ” he says.

The newspaper idea was motivated by Scott’s devotion to Mad Magazine when he was a kid, and the National Lampoon along with inspiration from the Onion, a national print and online satirical publication.

“From the feedback I received the self-deprecating ads generate as many chuckles as the absurd stories,” claims Scott. “The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. However, if you’re sitting next to someone in a bar who thinks any of the stories in the News Wrecker are authentic, then you’ll probably want to move down a couple of seats.”

“The News Wrecker pokes harmless fun at our small but vocal liberal and far right wing populations, local governing bodies, the Shrimp Festival, local news gathering organizations, and other area sacred cows,” says Scott.

The last two editions can be read online at ameliaislandnewswrecker.com. Scott can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].