Another vote for appropriate. The reporter used great restraint and just kept to the facts–seemed to be very careful to just keep to the facts. The student’s own quoted words were quite sufficient to make this a very ironic death indeed.
Actually, I’m with Cervaise on this one–it is deliciously appropriate.
Another vote for appropriate.
More, I think that the journalist did an excellent job by avoiding any editorializing comments. It would have been so easy to add something snide, or ghoulish, and instead it’s just a simple statement of the fact of the student’s advocacy, which directly relates to what happened.
Normally it is in very bad taste to point out something stupid someone
did that got them killed, since they can not defend themselves. But if before their death they were quite outspoken about defending that stupid act, then heck, they’ve already taken the chance to defend themselves. IMO, the guy lost all rights to not be lambasted for it after his death.
Imagine someone who despite all medical evidence, publicly advocates a small dose of mercury every day to keep you healthy. As a journalist, when he invariably dies of mercury poisoning, do you not mention his position?
Appropriate. It’s good journalism.
Given the context, it looks appropriate. I would normally be one not to hone in on something like that if it were in a different context. The reporter should have taken it one step further, though, asking the investigating authorities if the outcome of the accident would have been different if the student had been wearing a seatbelt.
As for the “reporter showing restraint” and “good journalism”, the reporter may have had very little to do with what ended up in print. The original article could have contained all sorts of subjective comments and personal bias that was removed and rewritten by the editor. Although, given the lack of grammatical and structural editing, maybe not…
I think it’s appropriate, for reasons already said by others.
I couldn’t agree more.