Balloon Episode a Publicity Stunt?

[MaryS]

Looks like it:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/1 ... -drama/?hp

October 16, 2009 , 5:05 am

Interview Sets Off Skeptics of Balloon Drama
By Mark McDonald AND Robert Mackey

Updated | 10:45 a.m. It was, apparently, a heartwarming tale — the 6-year-old Colorado boy who was reportedly carried aloft in a wayward helium balloon on Thursday, only to turn up several hours later after a frantic, widely televised search.

Falcon Heene, fearful of being punished for messing around with his father’s balloon, had been hiding out above the garage at the family’s home in Fort Collins, Colo., his parents said.

But on Thursday evening, after Falcon and his family appeared on CNN, discussion of the event online turned skeptical. The suspicions began after the family was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer — in the segment embedded below — and the young boy said that he had heard people in the house calling his name but had not responded because, he said to his parents, “You guys said… that, um, we did this for the show.”...

Much more, including video, at link.

[Syncopate]

Gotta love a 6 year olds sense of honesty. If this will be found to be a prank, then you have to wonder about criminal charges being filed for creating a false police report, cost recovery for personnel & material time for this search........

[MaryS]

http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/16/heene-fam ... lity-Real/

Heene Family's Reality Is TV
Posted Oct 16th 2009 2:05PM by TMZ Staff
UPDATE 2:20 PM ET -- A TLC official tells TMZ the Heene family approached the network "months ago" with a reality show idea, but the network passed.

TMZ has learned the Heene family has been pitching a reality show about the wacky family, as one TV source put it, "all over town."

We're told Richard Heene pitched a series to Reality Real, as well as RDF Productions. RDF produces "Wife Swap," on which the family appeared back in March.

We're also told the Heene's have made the rounds at the networks, including TLC. Of course, TLC produced "Jon & Kate Plus 8."

So is balloon boy the ultimate reality show pitch?

Stay tuned...

[JDinSD77]

Jimmy Kimmel stated on last night''s show the father had contacted him through a third party, and had asked for $25,000 to produce a reality series about the family. Then they showed a clip of the father ranting on "Wife-Swap" and of course he looked like a complete loon, which I realize is how they want to portray people. All joking aside, you do have to ask how much $ was spent trying to "save" this kid from the "crash."

[TheGoose]

I posted on the Chat yesterday BEFORE they found the brat that this was PUBLICITY STUNT.......

[MaryS]

I posted on the Chat yesterday BEFORE they found the brat that this was PUBLICITY STUNT.......

Yep -- he did:

[10/15/2009 03:15:00 pm] theGOOSE: like i said-PUBLICITY STUNT....IPSO
[10/15/2009 02:23:09 pm] theGOOSE: publicity stunt????

[Lurker]

WOW!
very impressive.
with documentation like that plus a buckseventyfive you can get a venti drip at your local Starbucks, congrats!

[Dgstan]

Used to be the words just rolled off the bottom of the screen in the chat room. Yikes!

Anyhow, it's looking worse for idiot-dad and his attention-loving clan.

http://gizmodo.com/5383619/for-sale-proof-that-balloon-boy-was-a-hoax

[TheGoose]

LIE- Mod has ALWAYS had access to the chat log...|lie|....just ask ......

Used to be the words just rolled off the bottom of the screen in the chat room. Yikes!

[Dgstan]

[quote="TheGoose"]LIE- Mod has ALWAYS had access to the chat log.......just ask <img src="/images/chat/smurf.gif">......
Why, did some magistrate have to subpoena the logs?

Chatroom is full of degenerates.

FACT