I agree in the case of a gratuitous insult, but look at the lead sample from this article: "My job compelled me to read the lede on your story; nothing can get

I agree in the case of a gratuitous insult, but look at the lead sample from this article: "My job compelled me to read the lede on your story; nothing can get me to read the rest of it." To me this is a good insult, because it gets to the exact business reason that the editor has with the story in an admirably concise way. If a reader doesn't like the lede, they stop. The paper is less compelling so people by fewer of them. So this is a case of a boss being unkind, but direct and informative. He's making his point in a memorable way that has a good chance of improving the reporter's value. So it's kind in the long run.