if you haven't already picked up a newspaper today, you might not have seen the leading and haunting image of Michael Jackson laying on his deathbed lifeless and limp. Dr. Conrad Murray, his former physician, sat through the first day of his manslaughter trial on Tuesday. Jurors were shown this disturbing photograph and heard a recording of Michael Jackson's eerie voice while he was sedated on the drug that allegedly killed him.
Debates often arise regarding newspaper front page photographs as editors often adhere to the ideology that readers do not want to see blood with their breakfast. However this morning the image of one of the world's most loved and celebrated pop icons was splashed across various publications, sometimes without any warning that the photo was graphic.
Rupert Murdoch's The Sun and The New York Post handled the photograph in two different ways. For those who picked up The Sun in the UK, they were immediately confronted with the front page photo of Jackson on his deathbed. The New York Post, on the other hand, ran the photo in a way that some say highlights the difference between European and U.S. newspapers, by placing the photograph in the newspaper and only putting a red headline across the front page stating, "Warning! Graphic Photo Inside: Michael Jackson On His Deathbed."
Other papers to splash the photo included Britain's Daily Mirror and amNewYork, which is handed out for free across the city.
Do you think these newspapers went too far? See a small gallery of the papers, and tell us what you think in our poll below.
