Lee Grivas, Christina Applegate's Boyfriend, Found Dead

July 4, 2008 -- Lee Grivas, 26, the on-again off-again boyfriend of Christina Applegate was found dead in his apartment on July 1, 2008, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Lee Grivas, a photographer, had a history of drug abuse, and there was a syringe found at the scene, according to the Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles coroner's office (Newsday.com). The official cause of death will not been released until the results of toxicology tests and an autopsy are completed, according to E! New.

Christina Applegate and Lee Grivas

Christina Applegate, whose career has seen a recent resurgence with her TV show Samantha Who, is best known for playing ditzy Kelly Bundy on Married With Children. According to various reports, Christina Applegate met Lee Grivas while she was on Broadway in "Sweet Charity."

Most recently, Christina Applegate and Lee Grivas were back on again and "had been seeing each other again" for the past few months, according to E! News. Christina Applegate and Lee Grivas first got together after Christina Applegate's divorce from Jonathan Schaech in 2006 (Wikiepdia.org).

Celebrity Deaths and Mass Media

Sometimes the media tries to be too clever when covering celebrity news, and oversteps the boundaries of good taste and journalistic ethics. In its news report of Lee Grivas' death, the The Dish Rag by Elizabeth Snead published by the LA Times tries to go for clever and make a joke. They also make an unjustified jab at Christina Applegate, almost implicating her in her boyfriend's death.

The headline is factual enough, as it reads "Christina Applegate's boyfriend Lee Grivas found dead." However, the lead makes a poor attempt at a joke, as it reads, "Maybe they should change it from "Samanatha Who" to 'Whodunnit.'" Not only is this in poor taste, it also leads readers to believe that the death of Lee Grivas, Christina Applegate's boyfriend, involves a mystery or foul play.

The Los Angeles coroner's department has ruled the death of Christina Applegate's boyfriend Lee Grivas as a drug overdose. So, the answer to the LA Times blog lede would be, Lee Grivas.

The LA Times article further pushes the issue by using a photo of Christina Applegate captioned as "Photo: Christina Applegate at the L.A. premiere of Over Her Dead Body. Was this really the most recent photo available of this actress or was the LA Times blog again trying to be clever, throwing good taste to the wind?

The New York Times and the Splentic George Carlin

In another recent celebrity death, the New York Times had the Internet world on a serious search for the word splenetic. In its original headline for the obituary of George Carlin, the writer or editor, again, wanting to show the world how clever they are in their use of 25-cent SAT words, chose poorly. The word has negative connotations, and George Carlin was a much beloved figure.

Splenetic, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means "marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite." It also means "irritable; peevish; spiteful," according to Dictionary.com.

The New York Times later changed its "George Carlin, Splenetic Comedian, Dies at 71" headline to read "George Carlin, Irreverent Comedian, Dies at 71." Now, it has been changed again to read "George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71."

For whatever reasons it changed its headline, the New York Times had inadvertently propelled the word splenetic to the top of Google search trends on June 23, 2008.

When covering celebrity deaths mass media outlets need to consider all their word choices and their implications..

Sources

E! News, "Christina Applegate Mourns Former Beau's Death,http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b145299_christina_applegate_mourns_former_beaus.html
Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/splenetic
LA Times Blog, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/07/christina-apple.html
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "Splenetic," http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/splenetic
NYT, "George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71,"http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html
Google Trends from June 23, 2008, http://www.google.com/trends
Newsday, "World & Nation Update," http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-usnatl045751563jul04,0,5436155.story