By now virtually all of the world has heard about balloon boy. And the fact that it was a ploy by his Father to get media coverage as a prelude to his landing a realty show.
The real issue to me is not the fact that this maligned family pulled one of the years most followed hoax, but that the media fell hook, line and sinker for the whole nine yards. Google News points to over 1,000 news articles on this topic this morning alone.
To me this underscores the fact that cable news channels are looking for the immediate story - credible or not. In past years the major network news organizations would check story leads five ways from Sunday before putting them on the air. With few exceptions - elections, political unrest, and the such - would appear within minutes of happening.
But a story like this would be scrutinized to ensure that it was really news worthy and not a stunt.
What happened to good old responsible journalism? Is it moving in the same direction as the daily paper delivered to your door?
Monday, October 19, 2009
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