Mediaite » Hot Air Balloon Coverage

Balloon Boy: What’s So Funny About The Media’s Abuse?

Tommy Christopher — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:13:09 +0000

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:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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

Sheriff to File Criminal Charges in Balloon Boy Case

Tommy Christopher — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:38:10 +0000

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.

The announcement came on the heels of “Balloon Boy” dad Richard Heene‘s bizarre press conference, in which he insisted there was “Absolutely no hoax,” then provided reporters a box in which to place their questions. Apparently, Heene’s Guide to Press Conferences begins, “Step One: Cut a hole in a box…”

Here’s video of the Sheriff’s announcement regarding the investigation:

There has been no shortage of media criticism over the “Balloon Boy” story, but this is the stage at which the media need to go deeper, do a much better job than they have been, and stick with it until the end. The horror of the initial reports gave way to relief when the boy was found, then a mix of shock and hilarity when the boy blurted out “We did this for a show,” and Wolf Blitzer didn’t seem to notice.

The story turned disturbing after that, though, with the TV networks lightly grilling the Heene family about the hoax “possibility” even as young Falcon Heene vomited his way through the interviews. Now, more disturbing details are emerging about Richard Heene.

When the next Kanye West comes along, the internets will forget about “Balloon Boy,” and Falcon Heene will still be a 6 year-old who lived through something very traumatic, who was the white-hot center of the universe for a moment, and who, right or wrong, painted a bullseye on his dad on national television. What happens to him from here is a story worth telling.

Balloon Boy Confirmed Hoax! Sheriff Holds Press Conference; Family Faces Charges

Zeke Turner — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:31:05 +0000

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.”

Says Richard and Mayumi (Balloon Mom) met in acting school, ‘they put on a good show for us.’

Verbal cues on Wolf Blitzer were evidence for the police.

Authorities hoped to interview Mayumi and Richard separately with a polygraph on Friday, but because of distress caused by media polygraph would not have been valid.

Alderden says, One things you folks aren’t going to like … Colorado Rule 3.6 and 3.8: We are not allowed under these rules to talk about the results of scientific evidence that is presented. We’re not allowed to talk about whether or not polygraph was administered, or what the results were.

Class 4 felony, Class 3 misdemeanor, among other charges pending against Richard Heene.

Going to open evidence bay so press can take photos.

According to media sources, ACLU will represent Richard Heene and Mayumi against charges; couple didn’t have an attorney with them yesterday during their encounters with the police.

Authorities think Falcon was in the attic, but “for all we know he could have been down the street playing on a swing in the city park.”

Ernie Hudson, Larimer County Undersheriff in charge of investigation: We have to keep an open mind, can’t operate on assumptions, have treat the family fairly and make sure they continue to cooperate. “Now there’s absolutely no doubt in our mind that this was a hoax, a public relations set-up.”

“We don’t have the luxury of rushing to judgment or rushing to conclusions.”

Yesterday:
• Richard Heene, Balloon Dad, will be charged with at least a Class 3 misdemeanor, if not federal charges, according to an announcement by Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden last night. Later that night, authorities were seen searching the Heene Family home. Alderden also said there will be further announcements in another press conference this morning at 1pmET. Video below …

• Meanwhile, yesterday evening Gawker shelled out for a post called “Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax,” written by one of Heene’s students, illuminating the man’s character and making a hoax of Balloon Boy magnitude seem pretty likely.

• Yesterday Heene held a press conference of his own, in which he said there was “absolutely no hoax.”

Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden’s press conference last night this afternoon:

CNN’s coverage of Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden’s press conference last night:

“Absolutely No Hoax,” Says Balloon Boy Dad at Makeshift Press Conference

Zeke Turner — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:06:06 +0000

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.

Instead, he only told the assembled reporters “Absolutely no hoax” before asking them to put their questions in a box so he could answer them later. He added that he doesn’t have cable, so he really has no idea what the media is saying about him.

Heene is proving himself to be a singular mix of high-brow, low-brow media savvy. His family has come to epitomize sketchy media attention grabbing in the last few days … which is impressive for somebody whose idea of a press conference involves putting questions in a box.

11 Other Kinda Exciting Things Involving People and Balloons

Ash Kalb — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:30 +0000

So did you guys hear about that kid and the helium balloon, but he wasn’t really in the balloon at all, and he was hiding the whole time? And it was maybe really just a publicity stunt by his somewhat off kilter family? Oh, you did? Really? Well it turns out he wasn’t just the embodiment of an anticlimax, he was also kind of a ripoff as well. Here are some people who really did some far-out things with balloons:

Old School

Balloon Boy’s helium-lofted hoax saucer was a lightweight. Back in the old days, people really knew how to get high: by firing it up. The first ever recorded manned flight of any sort was by balloon: in 1783 the French Montgolfier brothers covered 5.5 miles in about 25 minutes. Sure, there were earlier manned flights, but they weren’t recorded. And if yesterday taught us anything, it is that if the press wasn’t there, it didn’t really happen, even if it didn’t really happen.

Make It So

Cut to 1931. Swiss inventor Auguste Piccard emphasizes something that Balloon Boy’s non-flight made abundantly clear — you can’t control where a balloon goes, other than up or down. Embracing the up, he creates a pressurized gondola (the thing under the balloon with the people in it), and takes his bulbous monster to a record breaking height of 51,775 ft. After repeated attempts, his final record is about 20,000 feet higher. When he returns to the ground, his fellow citizens applaud briefly, then get back to getting ready to very, very neutral for the next decade or so.

Too Soon?

So if Balloon Boy had perished in any sort of lighter-than-air related mishap yesterday (or actually been at any risk), it would have been about 4.2 femtoseconds before some superwit typed the following: “OH THE HUMANITY!! – What – too soon?” So the 1937 literal crash-and-burn of the Hindenburg (for purists, a dirigible, not a balloon) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is herein included for reference. This is, for the record, why Balloon Boy’s non-craft was helium, not hydrogen filled. I could go on about the the WWII strategic importance of the US’ control of helium production at this point, but I want you to move on to the next page.

Next Page: Lawn Chair Ballooning, and Richard Branson

Wolf Blitzer Tries His Best To Blow CNN’s Balloon Boy Scoop

Philip Bump — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:46:28 +0000

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.

Internet Made Joke Of “Balloon Boy” While Safety Uncertain

Robert Quigley — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:32:47 +0000

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.

They’re vindicated somewhat by the fact that he survived, but only somewhat. Here are some of the jokes and memes that made the rounds while his life was in question. Ask yourself: if he had actually fallen out of the balloon, how would these read?

Yes, someone Kanyeized this in record time, and it was widely retweeted. The #balloonboy channel was full of expressions of concern, but also lots of memes.

Yes, the Venn diagram meme also made an appearance. (cf. top right corner)

This (real) music video of Falcon Henne and his brother also made the rounds.

When I first started seeing memes popping up on other sites, my first thought was, “I bet 4chan is having a lot of fun with this.” I was right: one of the tamer things to pop up was this (endlessly copypastaed) Fresh Prince of Bel-Air inspired rap, which ends with Henne falling “9000 or 8″ feet to his death.

Reliable troll/blog Hipster Runoff says the story seems ‘mad relevant’, like bigger than any buzzband in the history of music. Sadly, he’s kind of right about the ‘meme of the year’ part. Now that Falcon Henne’s safety is certain, and the media spectacle looks foolish in retrospect — even though it could have had a very different outcome — expect the memeification to continue.

“Balloon Boy” Found Alive; Newsers Prepare “What Was the Attic Like?” Questions

Colby Hall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:18:39 +0000

Cable news took America on a wild ride today reporting of an amazing story of Falcon Henne and his wild balloon ride. Judging by Twitter the early cavalier snark turned to genuine concern when the boy was not found and images of items falling from the aircraft surfaced. Turns out he was in the attic. Cable News bookers get ready!

Police initially reported that the homemade dome-shaped, 20 foot, 5 foot aircraft (covered with foil) was tethered with a rope while the family constructed it. Some time this morning, it was reported that the family’s six-year-old son entered the craft and released the rope. After the makeshift aircraft landed, it was discovered that no one was on board.

Soon imagery appeared that suggested that the six year-old may have fallen out of the balloon, causing some CNN anchors to openly ask for prayers. A local manhunt in the Fort Collins area initially revealed no news, until finally it was reported that the boy was hiding in a box the attic. Oops.

One can only wonder how much ad revenue the cable newers forfeited in going wall -to-wall — all because a 6-year-old was hiding in the attic?

This Was Still Wrong: Boy Found Alive Didn’t Change The Risks – UPDATE

Colby Hall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:54:01 +0000

Cable channels covered the soft landing of the balloon contraption that had earlier been reported to be carrying six year-old Falcon Henne. The balloon was empty at landing, but there is growing concern that the child may have fallen out mid-flight.

Not only did cable news programmers make a risky decision in covering this story live, they may have inadvertently aired his death.

Police say that the homemade dome-shaped, 20 foot, 5 foot aircraft (covered with foil) was tethered with a rope while the family constructed it. Some time this morning, it was reported that the family’s six-year-old son entered the craft and released the rope.

After the makeshift aircraft landed, it was discovered that no one was on board. Sadly, the child has not yet been found, and there is growing concern that he may have fallen out of the balloon early in the flight.

Update – The boy was found! Alive and in a box in their attic.

This Is Wrong: A Six Year-Old Child Could Die On Live Television

Colby Hall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:23:35 +0000

The bottom part of the balloon contraption is reportedly “not very well attached to the balloon” according to a local law enforcement official. Given the real chance that there might be a six year-old on board who could fall over 5,000 feet to the ground or even crash into a mountain, shouldn’t cable news cut away from wall-to-wall live coverage? Is a seven-second delay enough to avoid airing a potential tragedy?

As the father of a six year-old boy, I think not.

Police say that the homemade dome-shaped, 20 foot, 5 foot aircraft (covered with foil) was tethered with a rope while the family constructed it. Some time this morning, the family’s six-year-old son entered the craft and released the rope. Neighbors have spotted the craft nearby, and the Federal Aviation Administration is helping track the aircraft on its radar tower. Denver International Airport has been notified about the situation.

Wall-To-Wall Cable News: Six Year-Old Boy Floats Away In Hot-Air Balloon

Colby Hall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:54:35 +0000

All three Cable News channels have gone wall-to-wall in covering the breaking story of the six year-old boy in Fort Collins, Colorado reportedly who floated away from the family home on an “experimental aircraft” this morning. Yes, you read that correctly. All channels are airing live shots of the floating balloon, leaving cable hosts to fill airtime as best they can.