The Boy in the Balloon is not national news

[bluestateguy]

My thoughts and prayers go out the boy and I hope he is found safe.

But live coverage on CNN? Interrupting the president of the United States? At a time when this nation is at war and in economic crisis?

[gatorboy]

1. Here we go....

[Lex]

2. The war and economic crisis has been ongoing, & this is immediate.

That's part of why it's covered.

[inthebrain]

Yeah, it really impacts my lfe.

We're all gonna feel the fall out from this for decades.

[Lex]

28. Yeah, I'm sure Obama's speech was a game-changer.

nt

[inthebrain]

40. Well, the boy in the balloon thing certainly is

perhaps when he is found he can be appointed a cabinate position.

He'd certainly do a better job than Larry Summers.

[Blue-Jay]

3. OK

[TheWraith]

4. You're right, but you'll get your nuts ripped off for saying so. nt

[rcrush]

5. I'm going to protest the boy in the balloon at the next tea party

[Teaser]

6. POST WHAT I WANT

thanks.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. No, it's entertainment.

[Whisp]

24. its a diversion. jeesus cripes they're talking about it still...

angles, zooms, speeds, rates, sizes, grams, holy fuck shut up alredy.

[DrDan]

8. oh come on . . CNN can multi-cover

there is a lot of interest in this . . .

Is there something really breaking that should pre-empt this coverage? Or just another speech.

[WinkyDink]

65. "Interest" because? The kid wasn't THERE! WHERE is the freakin' STORY??

[DrDan]

67. they did not know that until the balloon came down

THAT was the story

Were you watching? If so . . . . why??????? Turn the channel.

If not - then why complain?

[Cali_Democrat]

9. This balloon chase interrupted Obama's townhall

What are the chances that the parents are rethugs, intent on hurting Obama? :shrug:

[WolverineDG]

12. OH PLEASE

:eyes:

dg

[Lex]

13. It's a Rovian plot!!111one

[t0dd]

14. LOL..that's it! This is a giant hoax by the Republican Party to sabotage an Obama town hall

:eyes:

[Cali_Democrat]

23. I was kidding.

I guess I don't do sarcasm very well.

[WolverineDG]

25. there's an emoticon for that

:sarcasm:

dg

[t0dd]

26. I know

But some people here will really feel that way.. :P

[anonymous171]

50. That's a joke right?

If so, :rofl:

[blogslut]

10. Over 1000 news venues disagree

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&ncl=dq8g0edJROm53DM8ulBkVgV4JoLdM&topic=h

[amyrose2712]

46. How do you get those results on "the googles"?

I mean with the time line and all?

[blogslut]

59. Easy

I just opened the news page and there it was at the top. Just under the first 3-4 linked stories was another link that said something like "all 2,400 news articles". I clicked that and scrolled down to the link that read something like "All 1000 related articles" and I clicked that. Then I copy/pasted the URL from the resulting address bar. The original 2000-odd news articles include blog postings. I went for the articles emanating from news venues.

[amyrose2712]

68. Thanks. I found it. nt

[Ozymanithrax]

11. A child of a family seen on TV is missing possibly dead.

That news in sensational. We will be deluged by this for as long as the media can ounce of blood from the probable corpse.

That is the way Capitalist Media works. it is not designed to inform, only titillate you into watching.

[polichick]

15. It's a great story, like it or not...

And the prez gives a lot of speeches.

[spanone]

16. not just cnn

[Orwellian_Ghost]

17. Society of the spectacle strikes again and again...

[auntAgonist]

18. human interest. There is a child missing ...

[t0dd]

20. Exactly. We can see Obama talk all the time. Or was he saying something

important like how he intends to repeal DADT one of these days? :rofl:

[auntAgonist]

45. I didn't say he was saying anything unimportant .. DADT

needs to be repealed I don't know where you get the idea I'd not be for that (?).

A missing child always captures the hearts of viewers.

:shrug:

I'm glad you find it funny or chose to try to insult me .. I think that's what you were doing.

aA

[t0dd]

52. Uh.. I agreed with you.

What the hell are you talking about? I was making my own separate remark on how his speeches are often repetitive, and it shouldn't be considered sacrilegious when coverage of a town hall is interrupted.

[auntAgonist]

63. I'm sorry. Please accept my apology. I read it wrong

and read into it that you were disagreeing :( my bad.

and, what you say is very true.

thanks for clarifying.

:hi:
aA
kesha

[TheCoxwain]

19. But ...but it makes for good television

[bigwillq]

21. It's entertainment television.

Reality TV.

I agree with the general sentiment of the OP.

[sailor65]

22. Somebody please put him back

and close the barn door?

[WI_DEM]

27. Sorry, I disagree.

[Drunken Irishman]

What is national news?

[t0dd]

31. Who is Spain? Why is Hitler? When is right? nt

[stray cat]

44. Any democrat DUers likes giving a speech someplace to anyone

[Bumblebee]

29. well, I am watching -- the mother, in me, I am sure, but I am grateful CNN

is doing it -- for their own reasons, of course

[sufrommich]

30. Neither is a kid in a well, but that's human nature, It has little to

do with the media.

[Joe the Liberal]

32. Nancy Grace just found her story for the next 3 months.....

how much you wanna bet that if that kid was black they wouldn't even give it a mention on the national news? The cable news networks will be all over this story for weeks to come, count on it.

[Bumblebee]

37. c'mon -- first of all, he is half-Asian, secondly, if ANY kid was in a balloon

they would cover it.

[Quantess]

53. Oh, it would get covered, no matter what race the kid was.

But if the kid was black, the only difference would be an extra dose of finger wagging about being "irresponsible".

[Pool Hall Ace]

71. I thought about Nancy Grace, but when

the missing person is not a pretty blonde girl, will she still milk it for 3 months?

[Zix]

33. Poor Obama.

[Lex]

36. Yeah, no one ever pays attention to that guy.

[Zix]

42. All those speeches.

No audience. :eyes:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

34. It's perfect for 24-hour cable news.

Which aren't real news channels anyway.

Think about it, how many local car chases and police standoffs have you seen on cable news? They're all about exciting, dramatic filler material.

[Buzz Clik]

35. First time that ever happened. Go figure.

[gatorboy]

38. Of course it is.

They even have you discussing it.

[slackmaster]

39. CNN, like other commercial media outlets, covers whatever they think will draw in the most viewers

Because the bigger their audience, the more they can charge for advertising.

It's really that simple.

The image of an unusual shiny object against the Colorado landscape with blue sky and dramatic clouds in the background, plus people working feverishly to save a young boy (regardless of whether he was really ever in the craft or not), is certainly more compelling to viewers than wars that have been dragging on for years.

...At a time when this nation is at war and in economic crisis?

Any situation that has gone on for well over a year is no longer a crisis. A six-year-old boy at risk of violent death, helplessly clinging on to an aircraft he can't control, is a crisis.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

41. Get A Clue.

[stray cat]

43. Missing people are not either right? Or planes crashing if the occupants are regional

[spanone]

47. the kids alive...

he was found at home

[icnorth]

48. The little boy is home, alive and well. CNN n/t

[rvablue]

49. Hiding in cardboard box near attic in the garage! n/t

[damntexdem]

51. Yeah, the national news should be reserved for tea party idiots demeaning democracy!

What's with this allowing a human-interest story to distract us when it should have been an outburst by Limbaugh?

;-)

[leeroysphitz]

54. 7+ HOURS of nearly continuous coverage...

[GreenPartyVoter]

60. Yes. Now that he has been found the story needs to fade away. It was

important when he might have been in danger but now that he's fine I no longer care about the family's "weird" interests or their stint on "Wife Swap."

[RandomThoughts]

55. Boy is safe at house.

I almost played a clip from this movie yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=322uZ5OO-WE


Remember what he said,

The boy that fell into the well was hiding in the barn.

I love that song.

Its an advertisement Cole the radio is not talking to you.


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1593397/twelve_monkeys_shock_the_monkey/

[LostInAnomie]

56. Yes it is.

[wickerwoman]

57. Amen.

Other countries get news. We get short attention span theater.

Why waste time and money researching and illuminating for the public what is actually in the health care bills or what is really going on with the mortgage crisis or unemployment or two wars or climate change when you can grab everyone's attention with a novelty story like "boy in a balloon" and run with it and run with it and run with it?

Yes, he was missing.

800,000 kids are missing every year. 2,000 go missing every single day.

None of that is national news. Neither is human trafficking or child labor exploitation or defunded schools.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh... but this story affects the boy, the family and to a lesser extent the immediate community. The entire g*ddamn country doesn't need to grind to a halt every time a kid wanders off somewhere.

[wickerwoman]

58. Double post. n/t

[anigbrowl]

61. Nonsense, how often do we get boys in balloon flying through the air? Or not.

It was totally newsworthy.

[WinkyDink]

66. Not asnymore, it isn't. And yet "Hardball" is nothing but this non-news.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

62. Let's start a National Petition to Change Human Nature.

:*

[WinkyDink]

64. This is an ASININE "story"!! There is no "there" there! Dad is a fame-whore, too.

THAT is the "story", if there is one. (Son named "Falcon" is allegedly on the balloon? When he is reslly in the garage?)

[saltpoint]

69. In hindsight, it would have been a far better mediagenic story if instead

of this kid from Colorado, the person in the balloon would have been OctoMom, or Congressman Joe Wilson, Monica Lewinski, or the brainless Baldwin brother, the Duke lacrosse team, or Charles Krauthammer, and then for the balloon to sail coast to coast and crash in a Target parking lot somewhere.

Just my take.

[Stevenmarc]

70. One kid hides in the attic, hours of airtime, 200,000 come out of the closet, barely a news blip

Sorry but the possibility of a 6 year old taking a big splat is not national news, but the equality of a large population of this country certainly should be

[Nye Bevan]

72. So DON'T WATCH CNN!

Turn off the TV, go to the Guardian online, or watch C-Span.org! Isn't choice wonderful?