Stunts Worse Than Balloon Boy

He's the 'inevitable product' of our era

(NEWSER) - A little sympathy for the Balloon Boy dad, please. Yes, he "grotesquely" put his kids through hell, but he’s also a fitting emblem—and the “inevitable product”—of our time, writes Frank Rich. Richard Heene gave us a fake spectacle that reflects our era much as “War of the Worlds” did on the eve of WWII. It's not his fault we live in an age in which “news, reality television and reality itself are hopelessly scrambled, and the warp-speed imperatives of cable-Internet competition allow no time for fact checking.” More»

Unnamed outlet blurs entertainment-news lines, says Alderden

(NEWSER) - A shady TV operation may have already paid the Heenes for its balloon boy stunt, the Colorado sheriff investigating the case has indicated. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the unnamed outlet paid the family for the launch and may be complicit in the hoax. An agreement from the media operation to pay the Heenes was found during a police search of the family's home, according to the New York Daily News. More»

Unsurprisingly, Richard Heene is a shameless self-promoter

(NEWSER) - With the balloon-boy debacle now exposed as a hoax, the spotlight has turned on Richard Heene's wacky and not-so-camera-shy behavior. The 48-year-old amateur scientist/wannabe reality TV star tried his hand at acting and standup comedy in the early '90s in Hollywood. And though that ended up being a "total bomb," says an associate, Heene was still constantly trying to get people to invest in his storm-chasing exploits—like riding a motorcycle into the middle of a tornado. More»

Backed off when judge ruled family couldn't profit from hoax

(NEWSER) - ABC News was just about to pay the family of "balloon boy" Jason Heene $10,000 for a video of their stunt and an interview before a judge ruled last month that the family couldn't profit from their hoax. "ABC pulled the story because it didn't want the scrutiny," a source told the New York Post . NBC has recently come under heat for "pay-for-play" perks to news sources. More»

Not surprisingly, Nadya Suleman and the Gosselins make the list

(NEWSER) - 2009 will always be the year we first met Octomom, Jon and Kate’s divorce played out in the tabloids, and David Hasselhoff ruined Thanksgiving. And those aren’t the only bad parents of the year—the New York Daily News remembers the worst:

• Richard and Mayumi Heene: Convinced the world son Falcon was trapped in a runaway balloon—and then made him and his siblings lie about it.
• Courtney Love: Ranted about daughter Frances Bean Cobain on Facebook after losing custody.