The Power of Children

Richard and Mayumi Heene got all the media attention they wanted — plus much more. Their son, Falcon is alive, well, and not floating in a helium balloon above Colorado (nor was he ever).

The 6-year-old had reportedly crawled into the homemade contraption and floated miles away from his family home in Fort Collins. After his story exploded onto the national media scene, he was found hiding in the attic of his house.

Although this isn't the typical boy-who-cried wolf scenario, I wonder how the MSM feels for avidly covering the plight of an airborne child only to find out that he never actually floated away and was actually part of a scheme concocted by his camera-loving parents.

Even before Falcon leaked the truth, the story had made it to nearly every corner of the nation, and many parts of the world. Was it in vain for the media to discover "Balloon Boy" was all a hoax? If CNN, for example, had waited for even just a couple hours, would the Heene family have received as much press attention? I think if CNN had deliberated a bit more — if the editors had just let the situation marinate a bit longer — perhaps a more meaningful story might have headlined instead.

Congratulations to Wolf Blitzer for dragging out the truth but I just don't see that story as significant as the war we're in, the situation in Honduras, or the many starving regions around the world. These situations, along with dozens of others, are those that should be brought to our attention — not a story about two nutty parents.

"Balloon boy" certainly is a unique story, but a meaningless one to say the least. And I doubt society was improved by the show that the Heenes put on. I think the MSM should've left that story to the Colorado press.

This leads me to wonder how often a media outlet should publish or broadcast stories about children. When is a story about a child relevant to a national, or sometimes international, audience without exploiting him or her? What good does it really do to see the Gosselin family splayed across the pages of newspaper and magazine covers?

A lot of our interest with children has to do with our culture. Our hearts to go out to child victims of kidnapping, domestic and sexual abuse and labor violations — these certainly are eye-catching stories for media outlets. But I think children, like rape victims, should be somewhat hidden from the public eye in cases of child abuse, and even stories as unique as "Balloon Boy."

Must pinch the general news media on this one.

"Saturday Night Live"'s resident Barack Obama impersonator, Fred Armisen, introduced the show last weekend with a monologue claiming his executive accomplishments have amounted to zero.

"When you look at my record it's very clear what I've done so far. And that is, nothing... Nada," Armisen quipped, reviewing a checklist of things he hasn't done almost one year into his presidency. (On the docket: closing Guantanamo Bay, improving Afghanistan, reforming health care, and bringing the Olympics to Chicago in 2016.)

Of course there is some debate over what promises the president has and hasn't delivered and why said claims haven't been achieved.

But still the question remains, why would CNN and PolitiFact.com fact check a comedy sketch?

The fact of the matter is "SNL" political shenanigans have been broadcast before. Who remembers Dan Akroyd as Richard Nixon, Dana Carvey as George Bush, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford, Phil Hartman and Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton and Will Ferrell as George W.? And, lest ye forget, Tina Fey's rendition of Sarah Palin was quite popular.

I think the sketch was reported on to the point of overkill - more than I've ever seen in the news. Several MSNBC, FOX and CNN hosts deemed it important enough to air the controversial skit on their broadcasts (some even in the evening).

Since the first season of "SNL," comedians have impersonated presidents, presidential candidates and politicos in general and it's curious to see comedy having such a focal point in the hard news media.

Bill Adair, editor of PolitiFact.com, noted, "This is not a fair portrayal of how Obama's done, but it's comedy, it doesn't have to be fair."

Adair is right. It was unfair, and that's a main element to comedy. And stooging is never really fair to politicians.

If I could just leave aspiring editors with a final thought it would be this: there is no limit to the way in which comedians will be impertinent. Fueling their comedy by reporting on it on evening news broadcasts reflects, I must say, poor taste and somewhat of an agenda.

Here's the video: