Today, the boy's mother has admitted that it was all a publicity stunt thought up by her husband to get them their own reality show(http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hzSzo-GaUvsvKnE2HnSHpUepx3KQ). There is the possibility that both parents may be charged for a string of offences including making a false report and misleading a public servant. However, it is all bad for the Heene Family? Although no one can be sure that the charges will be filled, it's quite possible that television stations will soon be clamoring to get this wacky family onto their shows. The phrase 'balloon boy' has become synonymous with the word 'hoax' and is even used in some headlines. 'Trial Balloon? Or another Balloon Boy?' is not yet another story on the issue, but is about sending more troops to Afghanistan.
This situation illustrates how the media can sensationalize a minor issue to the point of it entering everyday conversation, and become more talked about than more pressing issues than healthcare reform or the war in Afghanistan or Iraq. Even though we know it, most of us will end up sucked into the trap set by those like the Heenes who use it to their advantage. When the news about the flyaway balloon first broke, news channels dumped a lived broadcast of President Obama in favor of a silver balloon floating over Colorado. Fox correspondents claim that President Obama is a white-hating facist, and labels Michelle his 'baby mama' (slang term referring to the unwed mother of your child).
The mass media should try to maintain a balanced view of every single piece of news, rather than attempting to boost ratings with gimmicks and outrageous opinion pieces. Journalists are entitled to their opinion, but they should clearly label it as such, for there are many who will swallow it as God-given truth just because it was broadcast by a supposedly reputable news channel.
What an interesting news to discuss. I do think the media is over-sensationalizing the entire scene. The behavior of the Hennes family is a clear example of how popular reality TV show is, and how crazy the audiences are with these shows. This can be shown by the priority of such news over the president's broadcast. In this issue, the media may seem to be at fault. But then again, I think they are simply catering to human nature of Idol's of the Tribe. If the media is catering to our pleasures and wants, are they at a fault?
ReplyDeleteKelly, the problem with catering to our panders is that many people are rely on the news to tell them what is important. There are thousands of happenings all around the world at any one time, and even 24-hour news channels cannot report on every single one of them. Therefore, the common assumption is that if its on the news, its important and newsworthy. Therefore as knowledgeble people I feel that we should take anything with a pinch of salt. There is no need to be overtly cynical and claim that the news channels are propaganda arms of this political party or that country, but just be a little smarter about everything you believe. Also, the media sensationalises news such as the 'balloon boy' by repeating the story over and over, when there are other news bulletins that may be as important, if not more so.
ReplyDeleteI say both parties are at fault here, so we as media consumers should use our common sense a little more, and vote with our remotes. If you think its silly, turn off the news. Watch the news that is worth watching. Once ratings fall, the media providers will turn to another source of news that will help keep it up.
Journalists today are more interested in bringing the public news that are 'more exciting', no matter how trival and not important because the viewers themselves would rahter see/read such news. Like what you said, both parties are at fault. Also, journalists tend to forget their main objective of their profession, which is to provide the public with pressing issues, which should be reported truthfully and accurately and not invent stuff up to increase readership.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the media has to take some of the blame here, we are not totally innocent either. How many times have you or I devoured so-called 'sensationalized' news stories, especially those concerning celebrities. Get Smart people! Don't let the media fool us. Its even worse when we realize that they are pushing certain stories, but we still gobble them down eagerly.
ReplyDelete"This situation illustrates how the media can sensationalize a minor issue to the point of it entering everyday conversation" - When I read this part, the first thing that popped into my mind was Ris Low! I'm pretty sure everyone's sick and tired of her antics by now, but who can forget the (in)famous words 'boomz' and 'steeeel'?
ReplyDeleteThe media had a part to play in the saga. Honestly, who even knows who were the past winners of Miss Singapore World? It was due to how the media sensationalised Ris Low's short interview clip that her fame started to rise. Then, as her credit fraud history was revealed, newspapers splashed the details all over their pages, and she became a household name.
Going back to the Balloon Boy story, to be fair to the Americans, all the channels interrupted their afternoon programming just show the live broadcast of chasing the balloon. If only 1 media channel showed the balloon incident, I'm sure not that many people would have been caught up in it. However, it was because all the channels showed it that most believed Falcon was in the balloon! It wasn't until his slip of the tongue that people started to question if it was a hoax, and then the media/county sheriffs began their investigations.
Zhihan
Thank you for your comments Shimona. Somehow I get the feeling that the journalists of today don't feel that their job is to report news in a neutral and balanced manner, but to get good ratings for the newspaper, channel, or magazine. As consumers of such media products, we should know and also let others know that just because its on the nightly news, that doesn't naturally make it important. How can a story about a family pranking the world be as equally important as the state of the world today?
ReplyDeleteBelle, thanks for your comment, and you are accurate in pointing out that we are not 100% innocent ourselves. However, some people are naive enough to believe that as long as its on the news, its important. Because of this, we end up with a population of people with skewed priorities. As a result, many can point out the last location Survivor was held on a map, but have no idea where's Iraq.
ReplyDelete:)
Hi Zee,
ReplyDeleteYour comparison of the Balloon Boy to the Ris Low saga is spot on. Before that video, no one even knew who Ris Low was, or that she had won the Miss Singapore World contest. After that, every thing she did appeared in the papers, from her credit card fraud to her claiming to be the Speak Good English ambassador. Everyone knows about that, but who can remember the headline news for that week?
So as to not lose out, every newspaper and news channel will jump on the most exciting flavour of the moment, just like how all the channels actually bothered to show the flyaway balloon, Falcon's slip of the tongue, and the charges of a false report after that.
Thank you for your comment! :D
With the proliferation of the media, wat can we do? Even when u take the bus the tvmobile is getting increasingly llouder. Consciously or not, we assimilate all these useless news.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I just plug in my earphones all the times on the bus, even though I don't play any music. :)
ReplyDeleteThese days, I just record the shows I want to watch, and watch them on the weekends, skipping over all the commercials. I'm probably the personification of an advertiser's worst nightmares.