Balloon Boy on Larry King: "We Did It for the Show"
For a few horrifying hours yesterday, TV news and its audience thought they might be witnessing the death of a child in real time. Instead, it turned out we were literally distracted by a shiny object. The silvery experimental balloon hurtling through the air over Colorado did not, it turned out, hold six-year-old Falcon Heene; he had not fallen out of it; he had never been in it. And the media cycle being what it is, by nightfall Falcon and his family were on Larry King Live.
So what did happen? The real story is still murky, but there's an interesting tidbit in the video above (h/t Mediaite). Asked by Wolf Blitzer why he didn't come out of his garage hiding place when his family was looking for him, Falcon, addressing his father, says, "You guys said that we did it for the show."
What?
Now, it's hard to know entirely what to take from the comment, which Blitzer inexplicably didn't follow up on (and which seemed to leave father Richard Heene awkwardly flustered). There's no obvious "show" the family's involved in that Falcon could have been referring to, though Richard, a storm-chaser and science enthusiast, has hosted a series of documentary videos under the title "Psyience Detectives," and the family participated in an episode of ABC's Wife Swap. It's a cryptic remark, which might have referred to anything, and later on Larry King, Richard flatly denied that the incident was any kind of publicity stunt.
Still, I hate to be one of those people citing the appearance in a reality show as some kind of scarlet letter that automatically makes a person suspect—but with the details of the incident still weirdly fuzzy, the possibility of a hoax hanging out there, a family that's not exactly publicity-shy and now this mouths-of-babes reference to "doing it for the show," this only raises more questions about what was really going on. (Falcon may be in more hot water with his folks now for his LKL comment than for anything that he did or didn't do with the family flying vessel.)
Yesterday's scary aerial chase was the sort of event that cable news was born to carry, and it unsurprisingly led to the kind of excesses and confusion that accompany this kind of breaking story. Cable networks brought out a flotilla of "balloon experts" to guess at whether this balloon could have lifted a child. The story went through a roller-coaster emotional cycle. First we thought we might be helplessly witnessing the terrifying death of a child on live TV (networks went on a tape delay or cut away from the balloon's landing to avoid live-airing anything horrific). When the balloon softly landed, then no child was found inside, there was a mixture of relief and further dread, which grew stronger when it was reported that the balloon had some type of basket attachment, which was not there when it landed.
Contradictions reigned: for a long time yesterday afternoon, CNN reported that officials were "confident" that Falcon had never gotten in the balloon, while MSNBC maintained just as firmly that authorities were certain he had gotten in it. For whatever reason CNN proved to be right, but nonetheless both networks ran chyrons on their coverage saying that a boy was in the balloon, which turned out to be false.
As with a lot of such stories—the recent false gunfire-on-the-Potomac story, for instance—the networks made the mistake of reporting something they believed might be true as if it were confirmed fact, instead of sticking to what they knew for a certainty. (On the other hand, Fox News, for at least part of the afternoon, chyroned its coverage saying that a boy was "believed" to be in the balloon.)
In the end, as Shepard Smith said, anchoring Fox's coverage, "If nothing else, we've had a fascinating hour and a half with no commercials, watching a beautiful day in Colorado." Fortunately, it was nothing more than that. (The entire nation collectively had that universal parent's experience: Thank God you're safe! I'm going to kill you!)
The question now turns to: what was the family's responsibility? Was there some plot at work here, or was this just the equivalent of Bart Simpson's Boy Down the Well prank gone wrong? (And how fast can South Park generate an episode based on this—it was in Colorado!)
Finally, what did Falcon mean when he said, "We did it for the show"? Whatever he meant, he certainly gave us one.
[Update: This morning, by the way, the Heenes brought a visibly sick Falcon out for interviews with both Today and Good Morning America, on the latter of which Falcon threw up on camera as Dad continued answering questions. This story just gets more and more heartwarming.]
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1
Coupled with the sick feeling I had if a child was REALLY in there, as I watched this all unfold yesterday, I couldn't help but feel that SOMEHOW there was going to be a side story to this all. Now that we know the child is "safe" - I've got to admit - that one of my first thoughts was that I could SO picture Dewey of "Malcolm In The Middle" pulling this sort of stunt. Gotta stop watching those MITM reruns.....
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[...] Admitted By 6-Yr Old !!! The balloon thing sounds like it was all a setup, go figure !!!! Balloon Boy on Larry King: “We Did It for the Show” - Tuned In - TIME.com __________________ "My body's a temple !!" - [...]
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3
This is just another example of how pathetic our media really has become. To actually attach their sick cynical conspiracy theories to a statement from a 6 year old boy is a new low even for a media that has had no shortage of low moments these days. The boy was telling his parents for the first time that he heard them and their reaction was typical and so was his. I heard fear, he'd done something wrong and he knew it. So I don't expect him to say things exactly right he's six! Perhaps what he was saying that he didn't come out because he heard someone saying that he had done this as a stunt to qualify for another reality show, or maybe he overheard someone responding to the question how could a six year old boy have known how to do this and the response was maybe he saw how to do this on a TV show or perhaps the boy had done this because he saw it on one of those reality shows.
I could go on and on with possible scenarios -- just because he said the word you doesn't mean he was talking about his parents -- the boy was hiding and if he heard anything it was from his hiding place so he could have just as easily been talking about overhearing one of the cops that were searching for him say those words or something like it since any one with any common sense knows that when you are eavesdropping you don't always hear everything exactly right oh and did I mention the boy is six!.
The media is coming at these parents as if they were in total control of the scene. The police searched the house twice and couldn't find this boy. Has it occurred to anyone that the reason they didn't find him is because their search was only halfhearted because they thought this was something the parents were doing for some sort of show. I could go on and on with scenarios that would have encouraged a frightened six year old to stay hidden and could have been responsible for his now well understood statement. But of course our media that clearly suffers from an over abundance of hubris and stupidity has declared this six year old and his family suspect. They are the ones ginning up this story and why you ask:
1) they got cheated out of their money shot -- you know the close-up of the bruised and battered child hopefully hanging from a tree limb somewhere after falling out of the balloon.
2) the dramatic rescue that would eat up hours and hours of cable news time giving these news starved producers a beak from pretending inconsequential crap really is newsworthy.
3) producing another angle to the story that can eat up hours and hours of cable news time giving these news starved producers a beak from pretending inconsequential crap really is newsworthy.I can't believe that the media is whining about how this family wasted their time as if they don' prove to us every day with their inconsequential news casts that they have entirely too much time on their hands to begin with. Now, after hounding this family for interviews to answer to their allegations that this might have been a hoax solely because the boy wasn't in the balloon -- are now saying that doing the interviews is proof that this is a hoax. So the family has stopped answering the questions and has retreated to the privacy of their home. They've said okay we did the initial interviews to say thank you to all those that helped in the search we're done. So of course now not answering anymore questions is proof that they were involved in a hoax because if they were on the level they would answer the questions. This is absolute absurdity and the media is out of freaking control.
Our democracy requires a free and vibrant press to ensure that our politicians and centers of power do not run rough shod over the people. However, the media abdicated that responsibility long ago. The last eight years is proof enough of that. However, while we still need a free press, we need one that understand that with rights comes responsibility to be credible and respectful of our societal values. When you go off the rails there is no regulatory measures to reign you in so you must police yourselves and lately this is an area where you've fallen too short too often. You've made the story about yourselves and your needs and the only thing of value has become what gives you a story -- this is what is ruining the country. You are doing irreparable harm by fixating on the drama at the expense of the truth whether we are talking about balloon boy, health reform or the current administration. If there is anything that needs to be under investigation it's current journalistic values and intent. No one made them follow this story. No one is making them follow it now. The wants to be judge, jury and executioner when they have not even proven to be an adequate town crier. I've always known that the media has no shame and now I have proof that have no decency.
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3.1
Great response.
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3.2
Wow Dee you are so gullable. I believe the kids comment was genuine and he was answering a question with honesty. It is the parents that are lying and their reaction was anything but genuine. All you have to do is look at body language and the way the other 2 boys looked at her when she said "no". They were saying oh crap mom will be made that he said that. Those parents are a freak show and deserve no sympathy. They did not even have the decency to take care of their child while he was vomitting all over the place this morning. I would have said sorry stop the show we are done and take care of my child. He was probably so full of anxiety that he made himself sick. Great parenting role models.
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3.3
I agree the modern 24/7 internet driven media can jump the gun early but you clearly picked the wrong story to make this point.
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In defense of Wolf Blitzer, he didn't "inexplicably" fail to follow up. He immediately pressed the father on what the son's comment might have meant, and asked the father ask the son what he meant, and then let the father's refusal to do so speak for itself.
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[...] on morning television talk shows, some are wondering if the public was taken on a ride. Some wonder if the incident was a hoax or publicity [...]
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I think it is very obvious this was a stunt. The boy was 'found' in a place he would never be able to get access to by himself. The parents were at the minimum disengaged- and did not appear to be suffering from shock. Sad that people crave those '15 minutes' of fame long after they have had their turn. The whole thing smacks of a set up, and a means to garner attention and potential monetary gain. I'm sad for the children. I'm in hopes that should a hoax prove out, the parents will be charged, and have to make monetary restitution to all the agencies involved.
I do wonder though- did not the police search the entire property? Just curious.
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Just another reason why reality tv needs to go away aside from the crappy programming. We can't even tell what's going on anymore and we call this "reality". To me that boy's statement is slightly incriminating but when I look back at it when I was in trouble I would hide sometimes also as a little troublemaker! But still, saying "for the show" is weird.
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8
I heard folks from the media say that the parents might be doing it for the show. The kid said "you guys said we did it for the show". He did not say "we did it for the show" or anything like that. He repeated what he heard the media say. I actually heard one media representative ask another media representative is she had a chance to ask the parents how they felt while most of us thought (incluidng the parents) that the kid was in the balloon. Where do they get the reporters - Nitwit college? And then when they get their Masters from Nitwit college they get to go work for Time magazine.
Skip
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8.1
For your information, it's "Nitwit University."
You're thinking of Moron College, where Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Madcow and Alan Colmes all went to school.
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9
The second I heard "Wife Swap" I knew it was a hoax.
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Is there any truth to this story about Balloon Boy's family? http://rawstory.com/2009/10/balloon-boy-family-posted-video-of-fake-terror-attack-on-us-capitol/
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[...] family quickly hopped aboard the TV news circuit, and not only did little Falcon blithely say "we did it for the show" on "Larry King Live," he proceeded to puke on two network morning shows. Later in [...]
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[...] down to the important facts, and write news reports like that. Considering how the news media is actually reporting on them? I should’ve spent the money on a fucking [...]
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[...] Balloon Boy on Larry King: “We Did It for the Show” For a few horrifying hours yesterday, TV news and its audience thought they might be witnessing the death of a child [...] [...]
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Talk about the fickle finger of fame (as in the Wendy's chili)...
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[...] “You guys said that we did it for the show.” — TIME [...]
- poniewozik @LaurelSnyder that falls under the "stuffing is not dessert" rule for me. - 8 hours ago
- poniewozik No spoilers, but next #fnl is the best ep yet of the new season and Zach Gilford's best work on the show. - 13 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Not so fast, Carr. That means you owe us a substitute windy blog post. Chop chop! - 15 hours ago
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