Nation captivated by balloon boy’s hot air

As the saga of the “balloon boy” continues to unfold, some are pointing fingers at the news media for dedicating so much coverage to what now appears to be one big scam.

In reality, the media is just giving you what you want.

Alright, maybe not you in particular, but as the millions of blog posts, tweets and status updates proved, America was hooked on the vanishing balloon boy like he was a McDouble cheeseburger.

Incase you’ve been stuck in your own personal bubble, Falcon Heene, a six-year-old boy from Fort Collins, Colo., was the subject of a massive search and rescue after reportedly flying away in his father’s weather balloon on Oct. 15. It turns out he was in the family’s attic the whole time. Whoops! Now authorities are calling the incident a “hoax,” adding that “it was a publicity stunt” by the aspiring reality star parents.

A small child flying away in a reckless flying saucer-like weather balloon is just about the most amazing news story one can imagine, just behind Amelia Earhart returning and Nestlé purchasing Minnesota and renaming it Chocotopia. The phrase “human interest story” was pretty much conceived for such a scenario.

And boy, were those “humans” who happened to be at the college that afternoon “interested.”

Dozens of staffers gathered around a television in the commons building to watch the drama unfold, many with stunned facial expressions.

Witnessing the gathering, I feared the worst. Had there been a terrorist attack? Had the stock market completely collapsed?

No, just an empty weather balloon launched by a couple now accused of also trying to launch their reality television career with the farce.

The often sensationalistic cable news media can be faulted for many things (not being actual news, for starters), but the balloon boy debacle is not one of them. Journalists who cover what people should care about rather than what they do care about often do not last long in this business. The vast majority of people in the United States would rather learn every single detail about “John & Kate Plus 8” than try to figure out how the plus eight are going to have social security benefits when they retire.

The “balloon boy” saga has produced online video games, parody songs and even Halloween costumes. America can’t get enough of the little guy and his messed up family, so why should the media stop its coverage?

As the saying goes, let them eat cake.