Balloon Boy Hoax-What Did We Learn?

Last Thursday’s Balloon Boy hoax has dominated the popular conversation since we anxiously awaited the fate of a 6 year old boy supposedly “trapped” in a balloon flying uncontrolled over Colorado.

Those who knew the family suspected a set-up from the start. Richard Heene was said to be a publicity hound whose craving for the spotlight would propel him to enlist his young children in a stunt that could have had catastrophic results had any of the rescue personnel been injured or killed in attempting to “save” young Falcon Heene.

The law enforcement agencies-first stating publicly that they believed the family’s story—have now recanted and are pursuing charges. They are being called “gullible” and are living in their own spotlight with egg on their faces.

Not fair.

It’s likely the whole thing was truly a hoax. Yet, in the moment—at the time where action seemed more important than investigation, the police are being criticized for being duped.

The news media—publicly decrying the manipulation of their resources—are secretly OVERJOYED. One can almost hear the high fives and backslapping in the executive suites as America tuned in by the millions to watch the bizarre tracking of what looked like a giant mylar balloon across the state of Colorado.

If only they could PLAN such hoaxes—during ratings sweeps. The fact that it was all make-believe has not diminished our interest—in fact, the opposite has occurred. The networks are tripping over themselves to book the Heene family. Here’s the ABC Morning program segment:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwhZrVvwPz4

The young Falcon vomited on two of the three network interviews—I’m sure that CBS felt a bit left out.

Of course, the irony is not lost on anyone as the entire affair makes most of us sick as well. And yet, our publicity hog is getting EXACTLY what he aimed for—although probably not in the manner he would have preferred.

The thought that he PLANNED this farce has one wondering exactly how HE expected it to end. Unless he was planning to beat the authorities to the scene and plant his young son in the balloon compartment, how did he THINK it was going to play out? While his performance in front of the cameras has cemented our view of him as an idiot, I am curious to know what his planned end-game was.

Calling the TV station BEFORE 9-1-1 was definitely a tactical mistake. Thinking that an innocent 6 year old boy would keep his father’s lie in a consistent story under withering questioning was also an error of judgment.

The ultimate in “reality TV” actually occurred—without the knowledge or prior consent of the media that swallowed the bait hook, line and sinker. The ratings jump will have them ready to be duped again---happily.

So, the original blog-title question—“What Did We Learn”?
The answer:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

This kind of thing WILL happen again—and we, a nation of gullible media –consuming lemmings—will watch every second of it.


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