Bravo, Kitty, I could have highlighted every single word. Clickbait headlines and dishonest writing was a thing long before the days of yellow journalism, but it’s big business here on the internet.

And here at Medium it’s a cottage industry. As much as I like the idea of Medium it brings my respect for this site down more than a few notches.

For every story or essay that is a pleasure to read, there are 10 or more that scream headlines as sleazy as barkers at a ragged carnival. I’m still shocked by the number of articles here that promise big money if only we follow the writer’s list of surefire (“surefire” is a go-to headliner at Medium) fixes.

Every day I wake up to articles that promise everything and deliver nothing.

It’s disheartening to think they’re far more popular than those pieces that read like good journalism or fine creative writing. When those screaming clickbait stories appear on Medium’s front pages they bring it down to content mill status. I wish they could see the gold out there and stop trying to sell their tarnished tin.

Anyway, thank you for this. I hope it goes viral.