A Taylor Swift Horse (Non) Story

How Travis Kelce's purchase of a Toronto-based horse almost became a story

(Max Sharp/CSM/ Javier Garcia/ TOM SANDBERG/PPAUK/ Shutterstock)

Late last week I almost pulled the trigger on a story for LaineyGossip and ended up pumping the breaks.

Since we do a lot of inside baseball here at The Squawk and we get questions about our editorial decisions on the site, today’s newsletter is an example of how I ended up NOT going ahead on a tip about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce even though, believe me, I was tempted. But first, let me set expectations – this is not a whopper, no babies or rings or beefs etc. We’re dealing with gossip nerdery here so if you’re looking for a quick hit headline, this is not that.

As you know, Taylor Swift is almost always newsworthy. Entertainment websites, Instagram accounts, TikTok content creators, we all want to report on Taylor because she generates eyeballs. Which is why there are so many nothingburger Taylor Swift stories out there – TS is a heatscore, she is her own gossip economy. At LaineyGossip and also at The Squawk, we are admittedly not above trying to ride that wave. You’ve heard us say often that it’s hard out here for a small gossip blog. So anything that gets us some traffic, you know? But if you want a sports analogy in this case, sometimes you just have to back off a pitch if it’s not exactly the one you’re looking for. Let me explain.