From Jade Walker‘s newsletter The Written Word:
“A writer hopes to surprise his readers now and then. If we agree about everything, then one of us is redundant. Of course, rigorous truthfulness is good, but that gets harder and harder to achieve. So I settle for being amusing.” – Garrison Keillor
Humour writing has several subgenres. Which you choose or end up writing depends on your own personality and morals/ values. I think it’s cheap and taking the easy way out to pick on others. Not so different for those who pick on themselves. You are hurting someone either way. Can you write an article that’s funny but doesn’t take pot shots at anyone? It might be harder than you think.