Disney-owned ABCNews.com: All the News Fit to Strip?

April 18th, 2008 1:23 PM

NewsBusters.org | Screenshot from ABCNews.comEarlier this week we documented how ABCNews.com used a photo illustration in its top headlines lineup that pictured a Bible, a rosary, and a bare-shouldered woman apparently in the throes of passion.

Well, in this morning's ABCNews.com lineup of top stories: John and Cindy McCain's tax returns, Hillary Clinton bashing Barack Obama, Pope Benedict at the UN, and how a company plans to make a stripper game for use on the Nintendo Wii.

The graphic (pictured at right) features a young woman holding the traditional Wii controller against a silhouette of a woman grasping a stripper pole. The link takes readers to an ABCNews.com story by Ashley Phillips.

Now, I don't think the story is totally meritless, but "Top Headlines" material?

Is ABCNews.com merely doing its job to put the, ahem, sexiest stories it can on its front page to gin up more readership and ad revenue, or is it doing a disservice to general audiences, particularly parents who might find such decisions irresponsible on the part of the Disney-owned ABC?