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Jacob Lambert’s humor isn’t hard to find. It’s in the pages of MAD Magazine, on the inside of American Greetings cards and now at the click of a mouse. His latest foray into the world of satirical writing — PhillyTurkey.com — pokes fun at the city the 28-year-old Bella Vista resident calls home. Tuesday — the day the Turkey is published — marked the third issue of the dot-com weekly, and Lambert said it’s receiving good feedback from readers.
"Traffic is about as good as we can expect for something that’s only been around for a couple of weeks," he said.
Yet the concept for the site was in the making for some time, Lambert added.
"It’s an idea that I had picking around in my head for at least a couple of years. It was nothing I took that seriously. I thought it could work, but at the same time I was not motivated to get up and do it," he said.
When the lazy days of summer were in full swing earlier this year, Lambert found his workload a bit lighter and several headline ideas swirling in his head. He called friend Dan Baker in Norristown, and asked him to get involved with the design aspects.
Baker, also 28, and Lambert went back-and-forth on the look and content, which closely mirrors the style of "The Onion," a parody print newspaper and Web site that covers national, international and local news. Both agreed to create a site with a clean format, making it easy to navigate, without a lot of extras.
"Obviously there’s no escaping the comparison," he said. "[The Onion] definitely laid the template for this kind of thing. If someone wants to call it the Philadelphia version of ‘The Onion,’ I don’t have a problem with that because that’s essentially what it is."
After growing up in Maplewood, N.J., Lambert attended the University of Delaware for journalism, but strayed to art, specifically drawing and cartooning — a childhood hobby. He switched gears and graduated in 2000 with a degree in illustration, later making the move to Center City because he and wife Kirsten "fell in love" with the city while walking around looking for apartments. From there, he worked jobs ranging from sales at Metropolitan Bakery to an English tutor at Peirce College. All the while, Lambert was a freelance writer and cartoonist for MAD — where he interned in 1999 helping to edit stories — and Nickelodeon Magazine, as well as one of the creative minds behind what he calls "cheesy" get-well and birthday cards published by American Greetings, also as a freelancer.
When he built up enough freelancing work to quit his 9-to-5 job at Peirce, Lambert and his wife moved to South Philly to be closer to Kirsten’s work as an art teacher. Now, the house the couple has resided in at Eighth and Bainbridge streets since February has started to become a home — and a workspace for Lambert.
"We love it. If I’m lucky, I’ll die in this house, later rather than sooner hopefully," he said with a chuckle.
The nine to 10 stories Lambert pens for the Turkey each week, some accompanied by photos taken by his wife, who also helps him edit, are Philadelphia-centric, with the catchphrase, "News Youse Can Use" bannered across the top. Lambert still freelances for the same publications, but writes for his site Tuesday through Friday. He then submits his pieces to Baker for formatting, with each article taking anywhere from 45 minutes to a few hours to write depending on the concept. Weather and comics also appear on the site Lambert hopes will soon include advertising from local companies and corporations, as well as more writers so he doesn’t have to take on the whole load. He sometimes worries people won’t get the joke — "there’s always the chance someone won’t" he said. "Hopefully, people understand it’s all in good fun."
Covering topics close to home doesn’t make it any more difficult, he added, since he’s not targeting one specific neighborhood, but the city as a whole with its current events inspiring his ideas.
"But I’m not specifically scouring the paper every day and saying, ‘I have to find a story to twist,’" he said, describing his process of narrowing down as simply looking at current news and posting complementary pieces.
He has commented on issues like the recent mayoral race, the Eagles and local arts and entertainment by playing up the obvious or embellishing a detail. Headlines from the second issue that came out Election Day included: "Mayor Street Caught Sneaking Out of Office Early," "Breaking News: Philadelphian Votes" and "Study: The Flyers Season Started A Month Ago, And Apparently They’re Pretty Good."
The site’s name, like its content, comes from the mouth of a hometown boy. Lambert derived the moniker from a quote by Benjamin Franklin on why he felt the turkey should be the national bird as opposed to the bald eagle: "[because it’s] a much more respectable bird … though a little vain and silly."
Lambert learned to write the articles in a traditional newspaper format from a lifetime of avid newspaper reading.
"Writing is something I’ve always done," he said. "It’s not so much journalism but sort of humorous writing that I’m interested in. I’m not necessarily looking to poke someone in the eye for no reason. But things like PECO and SEPTA, people don’t necessarily like them, and they are the big targets that are the easiest and sometimes the best."
Having lived in the city for awhile, he feels confident in his knowledge of the culture, enough to poke fun at his fellow Philadelphians.
"I think six years is an ample amount of time to know a city like Philadelphia," he said. "I live in the city, I get around by walking and taking the train. I love it — I plan on being here for the rest of my life."
Lambert said his street, in particular, is a great place to live because of the neighborhood vibe.
"People are out; it’s livable," he said.
Though he does feel residents need to look on the bright side. "It has such a hard time seeing what’s good about itself," he said of Philadelphia, reiterating close-knit neighborhoods are a positive and unique aspect of the area. "It’s always kind of down on itself and so negative on a lot of things."
Perhaps, then, Lambert’s site can give locals the little pick-me-up they need and he hopes the initial buzz will turn into a citywide phenomenon.
"It would be ideal if someone could say, ‘Did you see such-and-such piece in the Turkey?’ and that other person knows what they’re talking about."
