Press uses tragedy for cheap Game Boy headline

You probably already know about the tragic story of the young, pool-drenched boy who was electrocuted last week after plugging an electrical device into a socket with suspect wiring. Good journalism would obviously report on the electronic device in question, it being a Game Boy in this case. But does the Game Boy headline and prominent angle cross the line in a move to further vilify video games? Spong reangles the angle: "So, we have the possibility of poor wiring combined with moisture, combined with a charger combined with an electronic device. Just ask yourself this: Had Connor been unplugging a lamp, would The Sun have reported 'Connor, 7, Killed by Lamp' and would The Guardian have published 'Boy, 7, dies in lamp lighting accident?"

Would it have even reached mainstream press had a lamp been involved? Regardless, our condolences to the O'Keefe family despite the controversial story coverage.

[via Boing Boing]