BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building

And then it didn’t post anything for 10 minutes—an eternity in cyberspace after posting a headline like that.

If you headed to the Onion’s website, you saw a story about a dozen Congressmen taking a class of schoolchildren hostage. A false story, thankfully. Satire, meant to poke fun at a dysfunctional legislative branch whose approval numbers are lower than the thermometer on a January morning in Alaska.

Now, this is hardly the first time the Onion has posted content that rode the razor’s edge of good taste. And really—who looks to the Onion for their news reporting?

But there’s no doubt that more than a few hearts skipped a beat this morning when readers saw that headline. Maybe they didn’t notice the source. Maybe they had children on a field trip to the capitol Thursday morning. And there have been occasions in the past when non-traditional sources end up reporting hard news, simply because they’re on the scene when it happens. Anyone who was watching the 1989 World Series between the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants can remember when the Bay Area earthquake hit, and watching sportscasters Al Michaels and Tim McCarver report on what had happened simply because they were there and on live national TV. They said “This is not a sports story…”

So, yes, the Onion went too far. In 2011, when reports of guns in schools and terrorist attacks on government buildings around the world are far too common, the Onion went too far.

In March of 2010, TPS blogged about using humor in business communications. Our observations then hold true now:

…if not handled with tact, comedy can backfire and ruin an otherwise fine piece of writing…As Shakespeare, himself no stranger to satire and the clever use of humor, wrote in Henry IV, “The better part of valour is discretion.” When in doubt, don’t.

However, if not handled with tact, comedy can backfire and ruin an otherwise fine piece of writing. Writer Suzan St. Maur penned an article a few years ago on using humor in business that makes several good points. She writes that it’s easy to get humor wrong, especially when communicating over the Internet, which is often devoid of context. Sometimes, it’s the body language or the inflection that turns a tasteless joke into a tasteful one. When that human element is missing, all bets are off as to how the recipient of the message will take it.

Still, humor can be used successfully if the proper precautions are taken. St. Maur advises writers to use jokes about situations, not people. All of us can relate to certain situations—a plumbing emergency, a toothache or a speeding ticket, for example—but we may take offense at jokes aimed at ethnic groups, minorities or public figures. St. Maur goes on to say that humor is best used like a spicy condiment in business communications: sparingly, and avoided altogether if one doesn’t know the tastes of one’s audience.

There are other ways in addition to those mentioned by St. Maur to inject a little levity into one’s writing. One is to be self-deprecating. While readers may be quick to condemn an author if that author pokes fun at someone else, they may be inclined to laugh along with the author if they’re poking fun at themselves. And the ability to laugh at one’s self and point out one’s own foibles can be viewed as a sign of wisdom, humility, confidence and a certain level of comfort in one’s own skin.

Another way is quote famous and respected humorists, whose work has gained a measure of respect and acceptance in general society. For example, Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” A comment like that might offend if an unknown author made it, but coming from Twain, it is likely to make others smile.

Whatever approach an author uses, it’s always best to have respected co-workers (or two or three) review the piece before it goes to print. If it causes raised eyebrows in the office, it’s likely to do a lot more damage with a wider audience. As Shakespeare, himself no stranger to satire and the clever use of humor, wrote in Henry IV, “The better part of valour is discretion.” When in doubt, don’t.