Okay, I give in. I was trying to let this one settle without blogging about it, but I can no longer ignore the shenanigans of Balloon Boy. I remember seeing the first news of this story while sipping on some coffee, but because the volume is very low on the TV at Northern on Main, I wasn't listening. I saw the balloon (which was shaped like a UFO) and thought, is CNN really reporting on a UFO hoax? Wow.
Later I found out that the issue with the balloon was not its shape, but what it was (thought to be) carrying. Apparently, the Heene family (parents especially) created a hoax in order to get publicity. The family was previously on Wife Swap and must have wanted more of the limelight. According to CNN, the parents called the media before calling emergency services. People from all around the Colorado town were worried for the Balloon Boy, trying to help, being glad it was not them. Then, the Heene family began taking interviews. In one very telling interview, Falcon (Balloon Boy), says, "I thought we did this for the show," when asked why he did not come out of the garage after hearing his parents calling. Immediately the father is tense and has nothing to say. I actually laughed after I watched that interview, because I knew that the father must have been thinking, well crap, were caught.
Often times, we hear about good public relations and bad public relations. Mostly, we hear about the bad. Well this balloon incident was not just bad, it was downright awful. The Heene family did something that no decent public relations practitioner would do. They used their own child in a hoax that if were real, the child could have died, for publicity. How low are people willing to go for fame? I bet the Heenes are now wishing they had just hired a professional, since they could now be facing criminal charges. The one-liner wisdom I take from this story? Hire a public relations professional first, and you won't have to hire a lawyer later.
Here's the CNN article, be sure to watch the videos, too:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Hey, I could use a public relations person to put out a few fires!
ReplyDeleteAlli, this story on the balloon boy was amusing and simply irritating to me! They should have looked into incorporating better PR into this whole hoax. It is exactly what the family wanted; to get fame on TV stations and be all over the news--when really they just made fools of themselves. My sister and I both refused to watch it on the Today Show ha, we just couldn't stand it.
ReplyDeleteThese are the parents that don't deserve their children. If they are willing to endanger their lives as well as simply use them for the limelight, they are not quality parents. Instead of sending them to jail, send them to parenting classes they need more than doing "hard time" to change their moral compass.
ReplyDeleteCatLadyLarew: What kinds of fires? I am still just a student, but I could do my best to offer advice!
ReplyDelete