Over at Mashable, business reporter Patrick Kulp has turned around a comprehensive look at the challenges Subway faces in the wake of child pornography charges against its slimmed-down pitchman, Jared Fogle. The article features interesting analysis that shows how industry shifts, such as the rise of “fast casual” restaurants like Chipotle, threaten the sandwich shop’s dominance.
Unfortunately, the article was promoted with this tweet (since deleted):
Subway has bigger problems than accused pedophile Jared — starting with bagged lettuce and limp tomatoes.
Journalists soon called Mashable out on the awkward construction of the tweet and its headline (which has since been changed):
Wow that is bad very bad https://t.co/EMFaDj51eS
— Lainna Fader (@lainnafader) August 20, 2015
Spectacularly ill-conceived tweet here. https://t.co/Z53tIubb1b
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) August 20, 2015
Mashable quickly apologized:
We apologize for seeming to diminish allegations against Jared Fogle. We've changed our headline & deleted the tweet. http://t.co/IIvJK4J6bL
— Mashable (@mashable) August 20, 2015
Other news organizations have responded to Subway’s scandal with a levity not often seen in conjunction with accusations of child abuse. The New York Post on Thursday featured a front-page photo of Fogle with the headline, “Enjoy a foot long in jail.”
The New York Daily News also used a play on words to condemn the ex-pitchman:
