Was the media full of hot air over balloon story?
When the balloon went up, cable networks didn't hesitate to switch from President Obama's town hall meeting in New Orleans to chasing the runaway craft across Colorado.
But, as The Washington Post's Media Notes columnist Howard Kurtz, puts it:
In retrospect, you could say the cable channels went wild covering the flight of an empty balloon. And technically, that is true. But cable doesn't have the ability to say, You know what, folks? We're not sure what's going on here, so we'll check it out and get back to you.
We here at On Deadline also jumped right in to follow this dramatic story, as did most websites, networks and newspapers.
Readers: How do you think the media handled this story? Should they have asked such elementary questions as whether this kind of balloon could even lift a 6-year-old boy before running wall-to-wall coverage? Is it a legitimate story, or is it more like a titillating car chase? What should media do, skeptical or not, if the Larimer County sheriff and the Colorado National Guard are off and running? Or did the media spur law enforcement on?
Check out some of the comments below from our readers, then let us know what you know think:Our media spent an hour on this supposed "news story". CNN, Fox News, and the rest of them are a joke! -- Joetheidiot
I called this a hoax 30 seconds after I saw the balloon yesterday on this blog, and many chastised...HAHAHAHAHAHA -- Get Moving
The father built the balloon so he knew that no one could be in it..no box,no basket...he knew it was going to get him back in the TV scene..BIG FAKE..family of nuts just looking for the TV exposure they once had.. I blame the really stupid media and totally dumb law enforcement people who could not see thru this phoney set up right from the start. -- Irisxxxx
I don't understand why we are getting all upset here, this is the kind of media we keep asking for. we keep watching these kind of reality shows and we want the news to show this...please let's leave the hipocrisy to the side and start asking for better entertainment for our kids...I still believe it's a hoax, and the parents deserve some kind of punishment, but so do we. -- eaglemex
Anyone with a HS education would know that there was not enough helium volume there to lift a 6 year old. The media just played the public for a fool. They are the ones at fault here. -- CruzanIron
