Pet PR Peeve: Don't Call It "Rumors or Speculation"

Last Friday, I learned that Vistaprint had acquired custom embroidery company Soft Sight (dba Threadsmith.com). Not the world's largest deal, but notable because Vistaprint is better known for M&A cold feet than for consummation. My sourcing was impeccable, but I followed journo protocol in calling Vistaprint for confirmation and comment. At the very least, I was hoping to learn what made Soft Scan different from all the acquisition targets that had come before. After a few hours, a spokesman emailed me the following: "It is our policy not to comment on market rumors or speculation." The email I wanted to send back was even shorter. Just two words, and the second one was "you."

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