Mischievous child named "Falcon". Flying saucer balloon. Seriously, what's the likelihood that this sorta thing happens?
Then, I finally saw the kid's father, and I immediately knew this was a hoax. Just how gullible is the media? Are you telling me with all the crack journalists employed by all these cable news outlets, not one single person remembers this douchebag Dad from Wife Swap? How could you forget this moron?
I mean, let's keep it real: I know missing white(ish) kid stories are ratings gold, but did it not occur to anyone covering this nonsense that given the Dad's antics, and the fact that this family had been on reality TV twice, just maybe, maybe something was fishy here?
I suppose it's apropos that the eternally clueless Wolf Blitzer "broke the story", a mere 7-8 hours after it began.
Perhaps even odder is this cRap video "Falcon" and his bros made and threw on YouTube months ago.
So yeah, this whole thing was a farce. I suspect the Dad will come out with some teary press conference this afternoon admitting as much. And the local authorities should come right in and take these kids away, and the Dad should pass The Obligatory Bravo Reality TV Offer That You Just Know Is Being Negotiated Right Now Somewhere In Burbank, and go directly to jail.
I hate to get all Howard Kurtz on ya'll, but in the end, I wonder if cable news learns a valuable lesson from this. I know a d@mn Grand Hu$tle when I see one, why can't they?
Question: Why doesn't the media do its due diligence before jumping on the ratings bandwagon with this sorta nonsense? What (if any) punishment should the Heene family receive for this publicity stunt? Do you remember this family from Wife Swap?
Cable news' coverage of boy in the balloon drama shows TV journalism at its worst [NYDailyNews]
