AnthonyAckroyd with John Mendel
John and I spend a couple of hours
brainstorming ideas that will encourage people to
dedicate themselves to a day of reducing stress on
July 25. We need to maximize publicity and
fundraising in the lead-up to this event by using
humour skillfully to attract media exposure. I learn
that even though Lifeline is a beloved Australian
institution that has been helping distressed and
suicidal people for over 50 years, it receives very
little government funding and needs cash. As my
second coffee kicks in the ideas are flowing,
promising fun times ahead in the name of a very
good cause.
Back home I start preparing for the radio show
I have appeared on for 15 years, the ABC’s Thank
God It’s Friday. I’m usually on the panel trying to
create humour from the news events of the week.
Today I am stepping into regular host Richard
Glover’s shoes and running the show, and that
means preparing an opening monologue that is both
funny and interesting. I’ve decided to do a piece on
humour theories, as a few days ago yet another
book was released by a bunch of academics
claiming to have cracked the code on what makes
things funny.
At this stage I have a solid draft and as the
deadline for delivery live on radio looms it’s time to
hone detail. I tap away on my Mac making the
almost microscopic changes to structure and
phrasing that can make the difference between a
laugh and a painful silence. I rearrange the
sentences in para 3 to read, “It’s been said that
analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog - few
people are interested and the frog dies in the
process. Yet there is certainly no shortage of people
happy to carve up Kermit.” Nice visual and the