Well, if he wanted to be famous, he got his wish. Richard Heene will now be known around the world as the guy who hid his kid for a better reality show deal. That’ll be a nice reputation for him in prison.

I know we have all heard about just about enough regarding this story, but I have just a few, and strangely enough, succinct, thoughts about the fallout of the “Balloon Boy” saga.

1. The Media is to Blame – Several comments on news websites blame the media for this circus. My beef with that is this simple truth, the media will not incessantly cover a story that doesn’t gather viewers. Trust me, if you’re sick of a story being on TV or anywhere else, don’t blame the media. Blame the countless number of your neighbors who are watching around the clock.
2. Reality Shows are to Blame – Again, my problem with this is while there are a variety of unscrupulous reality TV show producers out there, the medium is not to blame. When someone wants to be famous, they’ll find a way. A reality show was just the opportunity du jour for Heene, it could have been a myriad other things. I’m no fan of the reality show concept, but as bad as some are, they are only a magnifying glass to what some people really are like, TV or not. 
3. The Real Victim? The Next Real Case – You and I both know that Balloon Boy, and Balloon Dad more accurately, will be the first thing to cross the minds of authorities when the next report of a missing child comes in. To me, it’s tragic to think that one of the byproducts of this story will be a potentially deadly delay in the search of the next real missing child as the background media contacts of the families are checked out.
4. Does Larry King get the Assist? - Some people openly criticized Larry King for putting the family on live national television so quickly after the ordeal. However, the family’s appearance on the program, and Falcon’s unintended confession, seemed to crack the case wide open. On a side note, the Today Show does get a Dishonorable Mention for not reacting with compassion to Falcon’s projectile “nerves” and just going ahead with the interview on Friday morning, as if the child didn’t just get sick.
5. What in the Heck Did He Think was Going to Happen? - After all is said and done, what kind of sick optimism does Richard Heene have in order to think that pulling off this hoax was going to work towards his advantage and not blow up in his face? At best, he’s a parent that would allow his six year old near a balloon that could supposedly carry him away, at worst, well, this is the worst case scenario. Did he think that if his cover weren’t blown that authorities wouldn’t be interested in seeing how the balloon could actually carry as much weight as he said it could? Talk about not thinking about the next step.  But again, the good news here is that there will be plenty of time to think things like that out in prison.