Nursery World - When a child deserves protection from trial by a judge and jury media

Who among us will not by now have heard of Connor McCreaddie, a 14-stone, eight-year-old boy from North Tyneside, whose clinical obesity was splashed across the nation's media in the last week of February? I have been shocked at the crass headlines and the disturbing spectacle of this child's dire predicament being exposed in the public forum.

I have been shocked at the crass headlines and the disturbing spectacle of this child's dire predicament being exposed in the public forum.

And I have been left wondering: what does this say about the media's attitude to children and its disregard for the consequences of their coverage on the life of a child and a family? News should not be an ethics-free zone.

The private becomes very public

Connor became news because his mother, Nicola McKeown, and grandmother, Barbara Bake, chose to speak to print and visual media about the situation, including their fear that a child protection conference might lead to a decision to take Connor into care.

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