On October 15, the big "Balloon Boy" incident involving the quirky Heene family took over broadcast and cable news. By now you know the story – a boy named Falcon went missing in a UFO-shaped weather balloon flying across the Eastern Plains of Colorado. Miraculously, he turned up safe and sound in the family’s attic.
That should have been the end of the story. It wasn’t. Covering the story for a national media outlet I thought that once the Larimer County Sheriff announced Falcon was found, everyone would wrap things up and go home. Instead I was surprised to find a media monster consumed by the story and even more committed to covering each and every angle.
After we found out that the Heene family staged the entire event to get a reality show deal I’m even more embarrassed to admit I was part of the media circus. Maybe I shouldn't beat myself up. Turns out that I’m part of a long, sad history of the media falling for the latest hoax. From the “War of the Worlds” broadcast in 1938 to the drama surrounding “Jon & Kate Plus Eight” today, we live in a world where bread and circuses sell. We might not have all the facts (or even know if it's a true news story at all) but if we have stunning visuals or eye popping drama we're going to cover it.
Everyone wants to be in the news nowadays, figuring that those 15 minutes will bring riches and fame. That's why you see these sorts of desperate attempts to get famous. Rather than deal with the anonymity most of us have in our normal, cash-strapped lives, we’d like to be the next Richard Hatch, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth or Jon Gosselin. These personalities have cashed in on whatever public prominence they have gained to become a media star, however briefly.
Should we expect to see the Heene family’s dream of becoming stars become a reality even as they face criminal charges for orchestrating a hoax that got the fame in the first place? Although they’re pariahs this week, there will be a cable outlet that will take a gamble on them. That’s a tragedy for the Fourth Estate.
No doubt, this won't be the last hoax perpetrated for publicity. But if the media keeps indulging such people we might start seeing these ‘events’ almost every day; or maybe every other hour. “Balloon Boy,” you’ve floated into our lives and reminded us of a powerful message traveling across our land. America has a new moniker -- land of the free and home of the reality television star.
