Intrusive viewing

There's been some intrusive viewing offered up by the internet this week, but perhaps the most disturbing has been put up by Rupert Murdoch. If you had footage of Eric Clapton playing with son shortly before he fell out a window and died, you might think "aah, that's sweet - let's see if Eric minds us putting it online". But today's News of the World website has lobbed the files up without contacting Clapton first, apparently revelling in the extent to which they've crossed the line:

This intimate moment, captured before tragic Conor plunged 53 floors to his death from a New York skyscraper, is so private Clapton, 61, has himself yet to see it. [...] Among the most personal moments is his first birthday bash at his dad's London home, during which the star leads a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' and hands a toy car to the delighted toddler.

What makes it worse is that the paper didn't even get hold of the video itself, but was running it after it was thrown onto some American journalist's website. But did they stop and think while writing about how private, intimate and personal this all was, if it was appropriate for Clapton to see it first surrounded by adverts for News of the World promotions?

Indeed, you might wonder about their decision to run any story featuring video of a dead toddler right next to an advert for humorous video clips:

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