video Thank God for the 24 hour news-cycle, without which we would never be able to dig into every public interest story until we hit scandal gold. Like the case of James Sikes, the man behind the wheel of the out-of-control Prius from Monday, and who it is now being reported may not have been as innocent as he seemed when his car's accelerator jammed, speeding up to 94 mph before being guided to a stop by the California Highway Patrol. (more...)

video Empathy, sorrow and compassion are emotions one typically feels after watching a guest tear up on television. But every rule has an exception, and the appearance of Richard Henne (a.k.a. father to Balloon Boy) on Larry King is one such exception. CNN's Wolf Blitzer aired clips of tonight's coming interview with Larry King in which Henne gets remarkably emotional telling his side of the story, most notably, that there was no hoax. Video below. (more...)

Does saying the F-word on live TV even matter anymore? Maybe not if you're Kathy Griffin and expected to say outrageous things that will make Anderson Cooper look adorably abashed on CNN's live New Year's Eve special — because they both ignored it so smoothly. F-word? Live TV? Yawn. (more...)

It's easy to get caught up in the news craze of the day or the week and lose sight of the larger context. But which stories have really had the largest media impact in 2009? Luckily, there's a graph for that. The good folks at GOOD have put together an infographic that visually represents the degree to which "print, television, radio, and internet reporting" paid attention to the big stories of the year. Larger graph after the jump:  (more...)

“Having lived through the Awful Aughts -- which began with news organizations vowing to get serious after 9/11 and ended with Jon and Kate, Octomom and Balloon Boy -- do you feel better served by the news establishment? The easy answer, of course, is YOU MUST BE KIDDING.”

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Since mid-October, you have probably been wondering: Balloon Boy's parents Richard and Mayumi Heene, what ever happened to them? Are they rich and famous yet? Answer: no.

Well, in fact, their sentencing is today, and they could wind up the exact opposite of rich and famous: fined $46,000, and in jail.

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video Looking back over the last few days at the events surrounding Tareq and Michaele Salahi -- the Virginian couple who crashed last week's White House state dinner -- it's hard not to wonder whether we haven't just witnessed the invention of some brand new type of reality game show: extreme reality. Like extreme sports but with a reality game show twist. And boy did the Salahi's take it to the extreme (really, is there anything more extreme than infiltrating the White House and meeting President Obama?) Of course, in this case (much like its "extreme" Balloon Boy predecessor) who needs an actual contract with an actual television company (the Salahi's were apparently merely in talks with Bravo) when the cable newsers are so willing to take the bait and run with it. (more...)

video Fox News anchor Shepard Smith was a guest on The View this morning, and discussed the White House's war with Fox News, Balloon Boy and more. But as Joy Behar noted in her introduction, "When the Obama administration declared war on Fox News, I don't think he had Shepard Smith in mind." (more...)

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. It's not entirely clear where the country's television viewing habits fit into that mix but this is probably a start. According to a recent Rasmussen survey 80% of Americans think that Americans pay too much attention to sensational news stories. Snap conclusion? At least some cable TV viewers are aware they are supporting something they disapprove of. Apparently 'sensational TV' is the new tobacco industry. (more...)

So it's Halloween, and you don't have a costume. You were going to be Kanye West, but the friend you were counting on to be your Taylor Swift got swine flu at the last minute. Then, it was going to be Sarah Palin, until you remembered that that's what you were last year. Then, you were going to dress up as Balloon Boy, but you realized that all of your friends, neighbors, and extended family members were planning to as well. What to do?

Fortunately, Mediaite has come up with some costume suggestions for you. Pulled straight from the headlines, these are guaranteed to be hits:

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The story of "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene has become the newest national joke, the "I'ma let you finish" du jour. While there are humorous elements to the story, the media seems to be ignoring the darkest chapter in this story, and their (our) complicity in it. Recently, The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown have each run lighthearted, humorous segments specifically about Falcon Heene's bout with nausea on NBC's Today Show. While they're surely not the only ones to make light of this, they are the straws that broke the camel's back. Here are the clips from Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show:

We contacted MSNBC about both segments, and they declined to comment. Those morning show appearances have been weighing on me. While I'm disappointed in Olbermann and Maddow, two people who do 99% excellent work, they are not alone here. We all sat by and watched that 6 year-old become violently ill on The Today Show and Good Morning America. We know for a fact, now, that the child's father was making him lie, and it's likely what made Falcon sick that morning. The problem is, we all pretty much knew it at the time, too. Falcon Heene did a courageous thing by telling the truth on national television, and his reward was to be ignored. Wolf Blitzer fumbled the follow-up, and the authorities dithered, still believing Richard Heene's lies. While our own Dan Abrams theorizes that the Sheriff's ignorance may have been strategic, that would have been a strategy that didn't benefit the child. Falcon Heene went to sleep that night knowing that he wasn't believed.
Falcon's confession could not have been clearer, yet for some reason, the media continued to treat the idea of a hoax as an open question, a 50/50 shot. The following morning, Richard Heene went on TV and fed his son a lie for him to agree to, after who knows what kind of coercion. Why did these interviewers not press Heene on the details of a story that clearly did not add up? Why didn't they call him out? Most importantly, why did they continue these interviews while the child was in obvious physical distress? The fact that his parents didn't have the decency to do this is little excuse when you consider their part in Falcon's situation. Next: Further media wrongdoing on GMA and Today

By now everyone knows that last week's Balloon Boy incident was a hoax, pulled off by a family desperately hoping to land a reality television show.*

video Bill O'Reilly's status as top cable news host probably helped him land one of the last exclusives left in the whole Balloon Boy saga - with Larimer County, CO Sheriff Jim Aldernen. With Aldernen's slow action in declaring this a criminal case, O'Reilly had some material to work with. And he channeled 'the folks' for his questions. (more...)

Late yesterday, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters that he expects to file criminal charges in the case of 6 year-old "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene's non-ride on a runaway helium balloon. He also said that his office was trying to obtain search warrants, and expressed disappointment that they could only file class 3 misdemeanor charges. (more...)

We've been watching the Balloon Boy saga unfold in its fourth day of media coverage. The latest news: The balloon was indeed a hoax, and now Richard Heene, if not his wife Mayumi, will face a battery of charges. Below: Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden's comments from this afternoon's press conference, and his comments last night. Plus, information about Gawker's exclusive, and all the news from Day 4. Updates here as more news breaks. (Update 1pmET): • Press Conference this afternoon (video below): Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden: "It has been determined that this was a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt ... done with the hopes of better marketing themselves for a reality show in the future." (more...)

VIDEO Richard Heene, the father of the infamous Balloon Boy, called reporters to his house this morning for a press conference of sorts. The man who has had the media, and frankly everyone on the Internet atwitter, made it seem like a big announcement was in the works. (more...)

video As expected, Balloon Boy's comment on CNN's Larry King Live last night ("we did this for a show") has caused a media frenzy - although not nearly as much of a frenzy as the whole Balloon incident that started this thing. The parents of six-year-old Falcon Heene thought it would be a good idea to go on the full morning show circuit, but to prove just how good an idea it really was, Balloon Boy puked live on air during two interviews. (more...)

One of the most brutal take-downs of Sarah Palin during last year's campaign came at the hands of CNN's Jack Cafferty, who simply played a clip of one of her Couric interviews and angrily referred to it as "one of the most pathetic pieces of tape" he'd ever seen. Sitting next to him was Wolf Blitzer, he of Gulf War fame, now transmogrified into tepid network nameplate. Blitzer, playing the network's favorite game ("Let's Appear Neutral!") suggested that she had been "cramming a lot of information" - but he wasn't able to finish before Cafferty jumped down his throat, insisting Blitzer "not make excuses" for Palin. It was an ugly moment, and likely an embarrassing one for Blitzer. But last night might have been worse. Wolf Blitzer was handed, on a mylar platter, the scoop of the day - Balloon Boy, Falcon Heene, responding to the question of why he hid in the attic so long with a tenuous, "You guys said that we did this for the show." His father reacted like the jig was up ("Man…"); his mother, holding out hope, pushed back. That happened shortly before 9:18 p.m. Eastern, which is when I sent a tweet saying, "Um, I think the Balloon Boy just said he didn't come out of hiding because, 'we did it for a show.' Wolf, want to check on that?" Wolf didn't want to check on that. Another half hour of interview proceeded, with no mention of Falcon's statement. The parents and their squirming sons breezed through softballs about how they felt, the nature of the balloon, etc. All of those who felt something was odd about the whole situation, myself included, watched a key point fade away. This was the story of the day! And it featured a family who had already been on a reality show. A father eager enough to be on CNN that he filed repeated "iReports", looking at various weather phenomenon, which became a staple of the filler period between the landing of the aircraft and the location of the child. But no follow up from Wolf. Until the last question of the segment. Coming back from commercial, Blitzer baited his hook:

BLITZER: Richard Heene, the father of little Falcon -- Richard, earlier in the show I asked you to relay the question to Falcon. He was hiding in the garage for four hours. I asked you to ask him why didn't he come out after he heard you and his mom and everybody else screaming for Falcon. And you said to him, "Falcon, why didn't you come out?" And Falcon said, hmmm, you guys said that we did this for the show. And you said, hmmmm. What did he mean, we did this for the show? R. HEENE: I have no idea. I think he was talking about the media. They've been asking a lot of questions. So somebody asked him that question earlier. BLITZER: Do you want to ask him now. I don't know if he can hear me? What did he mean by what he said we did this for the show? Do you want to ask Falcon? R. HEENE: Falcon, they want to know -- they want to know why you were in the attic for so long and why you -- say it again? BLITZER: Why he said -- he said we did this for the show in explaining why he didn't come out of the attic. R. HEENE: Yes. Let me interrupt this real quick. I think I can see the direction you guys are hedging on this. Because earlier you had asked the police officers the question. The media out front, we weren't even going to do this view. And I'm kind of appalled, after all of the feelings that I went through, up and down, that you guys are trying to suggest something else. OK? I'm really appalled, because they said out in front that this would be the end, and I wouldn't have to be bothered for the rest of the week with any shows or anything. So we said OK, fine, we'll do this. So I'm kind of appalled that you guy would say something like that. You know?

Notice that Falcon, who had no earpiece, wasn't asked Blitzer's question. Notice that the father tried to change what he was supposed to ask. Notice how inordinately defensive his response was. This is the get. This is the moment journalists dream about. Blitzer should have been salivating.

BLITZER: No, no. We're not asking anything unusual. You were asked earlier about if this was a publicity stunt. You say it wasn't. The police say it wasn't. The rescue operation say it wasn't. The only thing I wanted to clarify why Falcon had said earlier we did this for the show. I just wanted to clarify. I didn't understand what he was referring to.

The fish wriggles free. If it hadn't been for Anderson Cooper picking up the ball during 360, CNN would have completely abandoned their own scoop. Wolf, I'd check dark alleys as you're headed to your car today. I have a feeling Jack Cafferty is lurking in the shadows with a cudgel.

video It didn't take long for Balloon Boy and his spotlight-loving family to tell their story, spending an hour with Wolf Blitzer who filled in for Larry King on CNN tonight. While Richard Heene and Mayumi Heene (Balloon Boy Falcon Heene's parents) mumbled their way through a story about their traumatic day, it took a hide-and-seek-loving six-year-old to finally admit the truth. (more...)

Fortunately, "Balloon boy" Falcon Henne was just found alive in an attic. But when it wasn't certain whether he was dead, the Internet went wild making jokes about him. It doesn't help that "balloon" is a funny-sounding word and that the craft in question is funny-looking, but the detachedness with which many people treated the possible death of a 6-year-old boy is disturbing.

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