I wanted to share an article I just read on The Huffington Post. Star Jones has expressed her opinion on the media circus surrounding Heath's death.
Reporting on the Dead
Since we learned of actor Heath Ledger's untimely death on Tuesday afternoon, the basic fact is that until additional tests have been conducted, the autopsy is incomplete and inconclusive as to why this 28-year-old man died. That's what we know.
Let's get to what we don't know: his death was a tragic accident, or something to the contrary. Until we know for sure, I think the media should just shut their mouths and stop all the speculation that's been running rampant.
This man has a two-year-old daughter. His family is going through the worst time in their lives. Their hearts are broken, they're numb, they can't understand what's going on right now. Michelle Williams is trying to figure out how to explain to their little girl that she will never see her daddy again. It's heartbreaking, tragic, and it's being used to fuel our never ceasing desire to eavesdrop on the lives of others.
Please let them grieve in privacy and dignity for a few days at least for goodness sake. As far as I'm aware, Heath Ledger never did anything but conduct himself in the most respectful and charismatic way. He gave us exactly what we asked of him -- good entertainment and our $12 worth when we sat our butts in the seats of a movie theater. He made his living in the entertainment business, but he purposely chose not to make his life that way. He was by all accounts a normal guy in every way, a regular dad who was often photographed walking down the streets of Manhattan or Brooklyn with his daughter, Matilda.
The scene outside his apartment on the night Ledger died made me sick to my stomach. People gawking and waiting around for a body bag to be removed. I have been at similar scenes in my work as an assistant district attorney. And let me tell you, if you don't have to be there, you wouldn't want to be. It's morbid. Someone who was loved is in that bag... and trust me it takes more than a minute to get used to that.
And when actress Michelle Williams and her daughter arrived home in Brooklyn, the scene was just as bad. Instead of being allowed to enter her home in privacy, she had to endure the flashbulbs of the paparazzi waiting to snap the money shot. How she explained that to her child through her grief is something I hope never to experience.
Might I suggest that we in the media, instead of reporting on the dead based on gossip, rumor, innuendo and anonymous sources, choose to honor this man's memory based on his talent and the good taste we all should be exercising. My heart goes out to the family of Heath Ledger.
I admit that I was as curious as the next person when the news broke. I wanted to know why and how this tragedy occurred, and checked almost every website I could to get some answers. But the media circus in front of Heath's apartment made me want to vomit. Imagine poor Matilda in a couple of years, watching the E! True Hollywood Story or whatever and seeing her daddy wheeled out in a body bag. 
Anyway, since I'll probably never say it again, "Good for you, Star Jones!"
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Very well put and hopefully the other journalists will take her advice.
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1and we think to ourselves, what a wonderful world!
Hear, hear! Other newsies, even on here, are defending it, saying that you have to go where the hits are and keep up with the other sites/stations to make the people happy. Like we asked to see the body bag.
2But I think news stations can CHOOSE to do it in a tasteful way. It's up to them. The daily mail did an article on Heath that I thought was wonderful. It basically chronicled his whole life and what a tough time he was having in the end, but also what a good person he was.
She really is right though. I know most of us were horrified at the scene at his apartment that night & I honently didn't know that Michelle was ambushed at her door. I feel so awful for the whole family. I just can't imagine...
3Normally I can't stand Star, but she's saying the right things above. I completely agree.
4I usually can't stand Star Jones, but i completely agree with her here. I had not heard anything about then harrassing Michelle when she came home but i did see the picture of her that people.com had up and i thought it was tacky.
5I canNOT believe they attacked Michelle on her way in to her home. That seriously makes me want to scream. I didn't know that until just now. Those people are worse than vultures. At least vultures just pick at dead things.
Way to go, Star! I've never seen the View so I have no idea why everybody hates her, but this was great, anyway.
6I'm glad I didn't look around online. I kept seeing blurbs on television though.
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7"The years, No doubt, Have changed me"
I had to read this post when I saw your title.. I was thinking, wtf, did she lose her mind.. haha.. but, you're right. For once, Star is right - and respectable in addressing the situation.
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to her.
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