Anna Nicole Smith, R.I.P.

Sooner or later, anyway...

Okay, I'm going to get back up on my soapbox and rant about the news media again. This time the subject is yesterday's CNN headline over the court battle over Anna Nicole Smith's body (I didn't bother to read the story, so I don't have a link to it). The judge placed the body in the custody of the guardian ad litem for Smith's infant daughter. But, according to CNN:

Smith's infant daughter gets custody of body

I mean, really. The idea that, no matter how you slice it, that there's no real difference between a person having custody of something, and their attorney having custody of that thing is absurd. While I must admit that I haven't read CNN often enough to be certain, I doubt that they would presented the story in such a way if it didn't make for such a sensational headline. Granted, from what I've heard of the judge in this case, ruling out the idea that he actually would have granted custody to a five-month old may have been premature, but as you can see right there in the blurb, the headline and the facts were in opposition.

Would it really have been that difficult to write a headline that was both brief AND accurate?