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By Joseph Chez
Hype but not felonious I would say. In fact, it’s the American Way. Yes, as the world was watching President Obama speak before an audience in the State of Louisiana, the live broad cast was suddenly interrupted by CNN to give coverage to a run away helium balloon, which it was thought, was carrying a minor child on board. As the hullabaloo continued, the dramatics were hyped by the tense situation being presented by the media. Did the child fall, as it was reported or maybe not?
This was great news on the go; tension, drama unfolding and life hanging on the balance. By now we have all seen on TV the 50 mile or so chase by military planes and helicopters, the media flanking the helium balloon, plus the hundred or so rescue personnel trampling the Colorado soil. But if anyone thinks it was live TV coverage, it was not. CNN decided to insert a 10 second delay on the broadcast to protect the public from potentially watching a human tragedy unfold. Fortunately, and to the surprise of the peering masses, as ground personnel reached the partially deflated fiasco, there was no child on board. Darn, this would have been Nielsen's top ratings. But, the story is not dead yet and the media was not about to let it go. Thus, the media continued the story with gut instinct - that there was more.
By evening, prime time questioning began and the prosecution interviewed the Heene family with determination and leading questions - which lead to much speculation that the Heene family had in fact, created a publicity stunt, staged and produced by a set of unlikely characters wanting to achieve the American Dream.
Originally the Colorado, Laramie County Sheriff, was only contemplating filing misdemeanor charges for filing a false police report. However, with such de minimis (inconsequential) charge, the story would have ended, if not for the economic consequences. Thus, the relentless media pressed for more: what about child endangerment; whose going to pay for public sources used in the chase; and what about potential danger to air flights in nearby corridors? Feeling the media blitz, the sheriff sort-of changed his mind and is now reporting to the media, that there may be more - felonious charges that is.
We now understand that the Heene family may have concocted the hoax, perhaps in hopes of cashing-in. Maybe, as the entire issue is still undetermined and has not been adjudicated by a court of law. But, why is there still so much hype about this story? As a participant-observer, it seemed to me that CNN and other media sources were milking the story with much gusto and bottom line - for ratings and the profit margin, right? So let's be honest; are we not enthralled with media hype and their juicy stories? Just about every product out in the market: movies, books or even public personalities, are known to create eye-catching, or gossip-laden hoax situations that in the end, translate into mucho dinero. Have we forgotten the vulva on TV from a Hollywood starlet who, we were told, wanted to attract media attention? And who is to forget the octo-mom and the eight helpless little babies? Did the Media not demonize the mother, while at the same time, fill in add space in their programming? And last, we must not forget the Pentagon’s in-bedded media which reported to us many false heroic scenes from the war, which in reality – never took place.
Yes, the Heene family may have concocted a phony story, but isn’t it the American Way? Are we all not part of the economic sub-plot? Not only do we observe, but we all participate in the scheme of making money. Thus, the media must back off and give it a rest. Furthermore, the Heene family should be commended for their innovative stupidity, but they do not deserve the media circus which wants blood, or a police force with self-serving desires, and much less, the children taken away by CPS.
In sum, the question remains as to whether the Heene family has committed felonious acts and must they be relegated to prison life because of their unlawful acts? NOT. Of course, there ought to be a statute which covers moronic situations such as this – in which needless time is spent on superfluous speculation and damnation. For the co-conspirator, the media, it should BACK-OFF. Who the hell’s Wolfe?
Hype but not felonious I would say. In fact, it’s the American Way. Yes, as the world was watching President Obama speak before an audience in the State of Louisiana, the live broad cast was suddenly interrupted by CNN to give coverage to a run away helium balloon, which it was thought, was carrying a minor child on board. As the hullabaloo continued, the dramatics were hyped by the tense situation being presented by the media. Did the child fall, as it was reported or maybe not?
This was great news on the go; tension, drama unfolding and life hanging on the balance. By now we have all seen on TV the 50 mile or so chase by military planes and helicopters, the media flanking the helium balloon, plus the hundred or so rescue personnel trampling the Colorado soil. But if anyone thinks it was live TV coverage, it was not. CNN decided to insert a 10 second delay on the broadcast to protect the public from potentially watching a human tragedy unfold. Fortunately, and to the surprise of the peering masses, as ground personnel reached the partially deflated fiasco, there was no child on board. Darn, this would have been Nielsen's top ratings. But, the story is not dead yet and the media was not about to let it go. Thus, the media continued the story with gut instinct - that there was more.
By evening, prime time questioning began and the prosecution interviewed the Heene family with determination and leading questions - which lead to much speculation that the Heene family had in fact, created a publicity stunt, staged and produced by a set of unlikely characters wanting to achieve the American Dream.
Originally the Colorado, Laramie County Sheriff, was only contemplating filing misdemeanor charges for filing a false police report. However, with such de minimis (inconsequential) charge, the story would have ended, if not for the economic consequences. Thus, the relentless media pressed for more: what about child endangerment; whose going to pay for public sources used in the chase; and what about potential danger to air flights in nearby corridors? Feeling the media blitz, the sheriff sort-of changed his mind and is now reporting to the media, that there may be more - felonious charges that is.
We now understand that the Heene family may have concocted the hoax, perhaps in hopes of cashing-in. Maybe, as the entire issue is still undetermined and has not been adjudicated by a court of law. But, why is there still so much hype about this story? As a participant-observer, it seemed to me that CNN and other media sources were milking the story with much gusto and bottom line - for ratings and the profit margin, right? So let's be honest; are we not enthralled with media hype and their juicy stories? Just about every product out in the market: movies, books or even public personalities, are known to create eye-catching, or gossip-laden hoax situations that in the end, translate into mucho dinero. Have we forgotten the vulva on TV from a Hollywood starlet who, we were told, wanted to attract media attention? And who is to forget the octo-mom and the eight helpless little babies? Did the Media not demonize the mother, while at the same time, fill in add space in their programming? And last, we must not forget the Pentagon’s in-bedded media which reported to us many false heroic scenes from the war, which in reality – never took place.
Yes, the Heene family may have concocted a phony story, but isn’t it the American Way? Are we all not part of the economic sub-plot? Not only do we observe, but we all participate in the scheme of making money. Thus, the media must back off and give it a rest. Furthermore, the Heene family should be commended for their innovative stupidity, but they do not deserve the media circus which wants blood, or a police force with self-serving desires, and much less, the children taken away by CPS.
In sum, the question remains as to whether the Heene family has committed felonious acts and must they be relegated to prison life because of their unlawful acts? NOT. Of course, there ought to be a statute which covers moronic situations such as this – in which needless time is spent on superfluous speculation and damnation. For the co-conspirator, the media, it should BACK-OFF. Who the hell’s Wolfe?
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