Word: ballooned
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...would be too simple to write off last week’s tumultuous balloon incident as a twisted misdirection of the public by a few Colorado kooks looking for their fifteen minutes. The hoax’s exposure brings with it another one of much greater significance. Obsessive television coverage of “Balloon Boy” is indicative of the media’s own sordid state. This episode brings to light a news environment in which sensationalism trumps responsible reporting and where the quick sell far outweighs any shade of journalistic integrity...
...balloon flew last Thursday, rabid coverage filled the airwaves and the Internet. It was forced into the public consciousness and crowded out almost all other news for hours. While Balloon Boy’s father and his convoluted morality may have sparked the media fire, lingering on the hoax itself should not distract from identification of the other, larger, problem at issue—that is, the essence of Richard Heene’s plot was to exploit a sensationalist media. He knew his story would explode as soon as the media caught wind, giving him all the attention...
...that, at least, there was a glimmer of truth. When the balloon landed in a soft, freshly ploughed field north of Denver International Airport, there was a leap of hope; when the rescuers found no one inside to rescue, a second, sinking fear took old. Had Falcon fallen out, or tried to jump; would his body be found broken somewhere near his house...
...says something about either our goodness or gullibility, or both, that when Falcon was found to have been hiding out in the attic the whole time, we still sought the gentle explanation. Maybe it was an accident? He'd unleashed the balloon and then hidden out, for fear of getting in trouble. On Oct. 16, Larimer County sheriff Jim Alderden announced that he was "convinced" the parents were telling the truth about thinking their son was truly in peril; so were many other people when they heard the frantic father and sobbing mother on the 911 call. But this time...
...tripping the lights, ringing the bells, savoring the spotlight until the moment on Larry King Live when Richard asked Falcon why he hadn't come down from the attic when called, and the child murmured, inconceivably, devastatingly, "You guys said that, um, we did this for the show." (Read "Balloon Boy on Larry King: 'We Did It for the Show...