Guy behind Alibi also brains of Onion

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - The Weekly Alibi is celebrating 20 years in business, but what you might not know is the guy behind that local paper was also the brains behind another publication, one of the funniest and most popular in the country.

Chris Johnson says if he could have looked forward 20 years, he never imagined his funny ideas and jokes would be so successful. He said he did not plan that far ahead, he just worked.

On the walls of his home, Johnson has framed photos of old Alibi covers and pictures of the original staff. But before all this, Johnson got his journalism feet wet with another weekly newspaper called The Onion .

Johnson was just 19-years-old and a college student in Wisconsin when he and his friend got an idea. 

"We would give the people, the people being college students, exactly what they wanted which was jokes and ads," Johnson said.
   
They had no idea The Onion, which spoofs real news stories, would go on to become one of the funniest papers in the country with a wildly popular website worth millions.

"I'm so glad they took our clever idea and ran with it," Johnson said.

One year after he started it, he and his friend sold it and Johnson received $20,000.   

Then in 1992 Johnson landed in Albuquerque and started another newspaper with another friend, Dan Scott.

At first called NuCity it went onto become The Weekly Alibi.   It now employs 30 people and is celebrating 20 years in business.  

As far as the success of The Onion, Johnson has no sour grapes. 

"My only regret is not putting our name in the masthead,  but my partner cleverly talked me out of it by saying maybe they'll ruin it and we shouldn't have our names on it," Johnson said.

Johnson says he sold The Onion to his then three employees, then he thinks they sold it to someone else.