Ya Want Ketchup with Those Lies?

The world was on the edge of its collective seat as the strangely-shaped mylar balloon rode the winds a distance of almost 50 miles. Our collective prayers were sent that the 6-year-old boy alledgedly aboard the balloon would be safe. As the aircraft and media chased it, confirmation came from the ground that yes, the boy was trapped in the cardboard container at the bottom of the Jiffy Pop-shaped contraption. A gasp was heard 'round the world as it was suddenly rumored that, perhaps, he had fallen out! Endless speculation followed endless speculation, experts testifying on-air to the effects of the current and whether the balloon would make it to Denver, shut down an airport, and/or crash into the skyscrapers in that heavily-populated city; to the surety that the suddenly tilting basket at the bottom was the direct result of the boy's weight shifting inside it, buffeted and battered by the turbulence of the currents; that the possibility of hypoxia decreased the closer the balloon came to the ground; that the angle of entry toward the ground would determine how hard the balloon hit the ground and the potential for injury or death of its sole occupant.

We learned that not only are there balloon experts, but they can be on-air to explain what we are seeing faster than the on-air talent can pronounce the boy's name correctly.

As the chase 'copter showed a close-up of the balloon as it rotated in the current, it was evident that there was no way into the cardboard container at the bottom of the balloon, nor a way out. That's when I knew there was no child trapped under the flying mylar saucer, a suspicion confirmed by the personnel both in the air and on the ground who let it go, the sense of urgency gone. I figured that the boys had been playing with it because, face it, it's cool, and while the rest of the family went inside for lunch, the boys loosened the tethers, then ran to hide when the balloon pulled free and began to soar across the skies. They knew how much trouble they would be in for setting the balloon free because they knew exactly how mad their father could get. One of the boys, thinking quickly, took the heat off himself by blaming Falcon, who, he told his family, climbed aboard before it left the backyard.

Problem was: great story, but implausible -- and the father knew that as it was he who designed and built it. At that point, at least tell law enforcement and the media that no one is in danger and let the world enjoy watching the balloon without the fear that it would kill a child when it returned to Earth. However, at that time, no one knew the family history, including video of the father's explosive temper demonstrated during two separate segments of Wife Swap: the desperate need for public acclaim outweighed the risk to the rescuers, as well as the trauma to the viewers who believed that a child's life was in danger.

The family chronicled the event with the media, telling lie after lie after lie, both during and following the incident. The collective "we" were duped again by someone who puts fame before fidelity -- and uses his children to make it happen. We can shake off a Jon Gosselin selling himself to the media at the expense of his children's future because we know the legal system will protect the children. However, when it's a 6-year-old child all alone on a runaway balloon that may become his coffin, we take it into our hearts.

Ratings pay for the broadcasts, and the first one on the air with the most dramatic coverage makes the most money. It no longer seems to matter whether what appears to be happening is what is happening: it's all about the ratings, and the on-air talent make it up as they go along, streaming live with an endless chain of experts who can speculate about any topic, any time of the day or night. When will the world no longer have to ask whether it's real or another ghastly prank on the public?

When will the public's right to know right now become secondary to the public's right to know the truth, not the endless speculation and hyperbole the journalists' substitute for solid research? Journalism used to rely on the test of time because the lies inevitably unravel, but no one watches that coverage.