Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

We All Share Blame for Balloon Boy

Emotion-ravenous audience devoured fake tale

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 19, 2009 7:10 AM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Falcon Heene's media-hungry dad isn't the only culprit in the balloon boy hoax that put the 6-year-old at the center of a giant international lie. We may be just as much to blame for our ravenous appetite for more thrilling "reality" TV events, "glued to 40-inch hi-def images, waiting for the latest fix of manufactured emotion to get us through to the next blog post," writes Foster Kamer in Gawker. The biggest victim is truth. "The harder you try to set the truth adrift," the more it rises up like a "goddamn balloon out of plain view," Kamer laments.

We've become "conditioned to lap up whatever reality freak show Richard Heene wanted to give us," Kamer notes. What "passes for genuine drama is a hell of a drug" that sucks in viewers, Kamer conceded. If you watched the Falcon story "you felt terror and you felt like shit for watching," he adds. Gawker, which purchased a story from Heene's former assistant that further unraveled the hoax, is as much at fault as anyone, says Kamer. Most unfortunately, "kids were involved, and they shouldn't have been," he notes.

Falcon Heene is held by his father, Richard, after authorities say the dad used his son in a hoax to fan interest in a reality TV show he was pitching.
Falcon Heene is held by his father, Richard, after authorities say the dad used his son in a hoax to fan interest in a reality TV show he was pitching.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Falcon Heene, 6, picks up leaves after a news conference outside his family's home the day of the balloon boy hoax last week.
Falcon Heene, 6, picks up leaves after a news conference outside his family's home the day of the balloon boy hoax last week.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Six-year-old Falcon Heene waves after a news conference as he sits in the bed of his father's pickup truck outside the family's home in Fort Collins, Colo.
Six-year-old Falcon Heene waves after a news conference as he sits in the bed of his father's pickup truck outside the family's home in Fort Collins, Colo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
drlarrymitchell
Oct 21, 2009 10:27 AM CDT
Execution seems a little extreme. I prefer a public flogging- it lasts longer, and leaves a living being behind that will be forever mindful of the stupidity they've perpetrated.
So_Cal_Larry
Oct 20, 2009 6:55 AM CDT
Would execution suit you?
So_Cal_Larry
Oct 20, 2009 6:53 AM CDT
Speak for yourself, Mary Papenfuss (author of the article). I despise reality TV, and never watch it. It exploits those who appear. Those who want to appear search for fame and fortune. The fortune goes to the TV networks, and the fame is mostly infamous. Reality TV is disgusting. It is the result of strikes in the entertainment industry when regular shows could not appear.

 
Gawker • Gawker Media • Falcon Heene • Richard Heene • balloon boy hoax • Falcon Heene hoax • balloon boy

More Newser Stories

ACLU, Gawker to Drop Suit Vs. Christie, Ailes

Gawker Hack Puts 1.3M Users' Data at Risk

Judge Orders Gawker to Remove Palin Excerpts

Site IDs Author of O'Donnell Kiss-and-Tell

Hackers Mess With Gawker Over Story
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne