October 2009

Tales of Balloon Boy: Front and Center at a Media Circus

On October 15th, 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 sells. 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 give them riches and fame beyond their wildest dreams. 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’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.

Letterman Scandal Could be Ratings Bonanza for CBS

In a time where network influence is waning, CBS will likely emerge as the big winner in the aftermath of the David Letterman scandal. As CBS’ most enduring star, having hosted a highly rated late night talk show there since 1993, Letterman has tremendous audience pull. During his program on Thursday, Letterman confessed to a studio audience and viewers watching at home that he had been the victim of a would-be multimillion-dollar extortion plot, perpetrated by a former CBS colleague. Letterman also admitted that he had had sex with female co-workers.

The news shocked the nation and tabloids around the country jumped on a story like sharks with blood in the water. The New York Post and the New York Daily News, NYC’s most prominent tabloids, both splashed the story across page one in their Friday editions. Chances are the scandal will not die away quickly.

In a cold-blooded business sense, this is manna from heaven for CBS. The network will benefit mightily from the publicity blitz and this in turn can help kick-start CBS’ slate of fall programs. That Letterman confessed on his show contributed to the high drama and gave viewers an incentive to watch the program at a time when Letterman is locked in a hotly contested battle with his counterpart on NBC, Conan O’Brien.

From Fatty Arbuckle to present day, sex scandals produce a huge amount of publicity and tend to take on a life of their own. If a media outlet can get in the middle of the story, they can ride the ratings boost for quite some time. Conversely, Letterman was the big loser when actor Hugh Grant confessed his sexual peccadilloes on Jay Leno’s late-night show on NBC in the mid-1990s. That bombshell helped Leno surge past Letterman, and stay in first place.

It just goes to show, any publicity is good publicity. Just ask CBS.