‘Grumpy Cat’ is your editor when ...

Grumpy Cat editor says ‘No.’ Created with memegenerator.net

“Grumpy Cat” is your editor when ... you pretend to be a journalist without understanding the ethics of my profession.

Too late for Friday Cat Blogging but just in time for Caturday, I couldn’t resist generating this meme that features Grumpy Cat (reasoning that criticism of objectionable PR practices may be more palatable if delivered by an adorable feline). The image was created with memegenerator.net.

• A man pretends to interview himself. He submits a first-person “article” by an unidentified author that purports to have talked to him and uncovered “the truth.”
• A news submission purportedly announcing an event’s change in venue, instead devotes most of its copy to accusations of corruption against an entity a source who “wished to remain anonymous.” The author includes a claim that his tirade’s subject “could not be reached for comment.”

It offends me when people submitting press releases mimic tabloid journalism. At best, these practices reveal lack of understanding and, at worst, contempt for my character as a practicing, professional journalist.