For a few hours, it captured the nation and caused every cable network to switch leads. It was perhaps one of the most bizarre headlines of the year thus far, boy in experimental weather balloon. Details came fast and speculation abounded about the whereabouts of a 6 year-old boy came into question when it was confirmed he was not in the balloon as had been previously reported.
It was yet another example of the media hyping before verifying…much like the numerous Katrina rumors about rapes, stabbings and like allegations in the Superdome. The boy’s family is still an enigma despite the fact they appear on a television reality show…muck like that of Candidate Obama versus President Obama.
The story, surely to garner Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame cliché, will quickly fade away as will the scrutiny of just how so many news organizations put hype before proof.
-- Killswitch Politick
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