Linking Case Study

I've concluded from many of our case studies and readings thus far that online journalism and media have become a community effort. Up until today, I've thought this was a huge improvement to the journalism field. This case study made me realize that there are negative aspects to online journalism, especially through the practice of linking from stories.
The link from the story we edited in class had photos of the story's subject, who had been a model. Not only would those photos have copyright protection, but they were, in my opinion, inappropriate to be included in the news story without proper warning.
I agree with Poynter that news media organizations should make it clear they do not create or endorse the content linked from their site: They're merely trying to aid the user's reading experience. The linked content, however, must not only be relevant to the topic but also adhere somewhat to the standards of the news media organization. Also, if a news media organization makes an ethical decision about linking, I agree with Poynter again that they should be consistent in their decision: if they don't publish a name for ethical reasons, they shouldn't link to a site that includes the name.
The issue behind the photos of the model is whether or not readers were given proper warning about the type of modeling pictures linked to at the end of the story. Honestly, I was surprised at the content when I first clicked on the link. The text provided over the link did not identify where the link went, which I believe is misleading. Readers obviously choose to click on links, but they should know what they are about to click on and where they are about to go on the Internet. It is, after all, supposed to be extra information provided to the reader. Furthermore, I don't believe photos of the model enhanced the story in any way. Yes, that was her former occupation and yes, that occupation could generate more interest than others, but her career has nothing to do with her trial. She wasn't on trial for anything having to do with her career.
This case study shows that links are a valuable yet potentially damaging area of online journalism that must be paid special attention to by editors. While links are important to stories, their purpose is to educate, not sensationalize.
Links can definitely, in my opinion, aid to the community of online journalism. News media organizations, however, must proceed with caution.