by Grover, the furry blue Muppet from “Sesame Street,” is known for having had many jobs over the years, including astronaut and dentist. He is now apparently a journalist.
“As a news reporter, I always do my research before publishing a story,” the x. “I’m sure I can report that you are so special and amazing!”
Some fellow journalists welcomed him to the profession, albeit with some ridicule about the reliability of his reporting and his professionalism. “Who are your sources?”wrote Danielle Kurtzleben, a reporter for National Public Radio, who published a separate news about Grover’s foray into journalism.
Others predicted his career would be short given the dire state of the news industry, which has been hit by relentless rounds of layoffs and closures in recent months while also battling reader fatigue.
“I regret to report that a hedge fund has since bought Grover’s role and fired him,” wrote SP Sullivan, NJ.com reporter.
“Unfortunately, Grover was fired for not meeting his quota of three floors a day.” saying Scott Nover, Slate contributing writer.
Grover’s handlers at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” did not immediately respond to questions about his employment status. But with his experience and his haste (he has offered its services as a “professionally trained referee” for ESPN anchor Stephen A. Smith and his Self Portrait to the Metropolitan Museum of Art), you may find it easier than most to transition to a different industry if necessary.
Grover, who is eager to help, although sometimes inept, may have just wanted to encourage people with his post. But he inadvertently highlighted the greater precariousness journalists have felt in recent months, even in an industry that has struggled to stay afloat in the digital age.
Since October, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal all of them have lost jobs, sometimes by the hundreds. The Messenger, a generously funded online news outlet with offices in Washington, announced last month that it would close after less than a year of operation.
The dark humor that journalists directed at Grover reflected their own feelings about their “doomed industry,” said Cam Wilson, a reporter for the Australian news outlet Crikey, who commented on X about the new Muppet work.
“I feel so sad about the state of journalism that leads me to crush the dreams of a Muppet character (and the poor social media employee who runs it),” he said in an interview conducted via direct messages on the platform.
It’s also unclear whether Kermit the Frog, a friend of Grover’s who worked as a reporter on “Sesame Street,” has been able to weather the ups and downs of the changing industry.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Kermit directed live interviews and featured Sesame Street News flash reports on breaking events like The fall of Humpty Dumpty.. He hasn’t published an article in years, although he was still vocation He himself was a “part-time reporter” at X in 2016.
Two weeks ago, Grover’s friend Elmo received an avalanche of darkly humorous (and just plain dark) responses when he asked the harmless question, “How’s everyone?” on
Why were people so willing to involve these characters in their own worries and misfortunes? Mr. Wilson, the journalist, has a theory.
“I think people who take advantage of tweets from children’s show characters are seeing a bit of their own naivety about the world from when they were younger reflected back on themselves and they don’t like it,” he said. “I include myself in this category.”
