Kids, I have an idea to get us on TV!
Maybe it was because I was on bed-rest and bored or maybe it was the hormones, but when I was pregnant with my second child, I watched every episode of The Baby Show on TLC. It was fascinating to watch other women go through what I was preparing to go through. Yet at the end of every show, I found myself wondering why any self-respecting woman would let complete strangers with cameras into the delivery room to co-experience her joy – and pain.
I felt the same shock and awe this morning watching clips of “Balloon Boy” and his family on CNN and The Today Show. Whether or not the whole thing was a hoax, I was left scratching my head over parents who would haul their kids out of bed, including one sick enough to throw up on national TV, for a 5 a.m. interview.
It is easy to pass judgment on the Heenes (or the Gosselins or the Duggars or any other reality TV family) for their parenting decisions. Isn’t it time we start discussing the bigger issue though? When success is defined by getting on TV or passing one million views for a YouTube video, it is time to take a hard look at our value system.
Here are a few PR rules the Heenes and others should keep in mind:
1. Not everything you do is worthy of news coverage. It is okay to just build a helium balloon in the backyard as something fun for the kids.
2. Fabricating a story isn’t the same as earning attention. No one – and I mean no one – should risk their children’s physical or mental health in the pursuit of a news story.
3. Don’t expect to be in the news every week (unless you are the President or a Governor). Mr. Heene, you already were on Wife Swap. Enough already.
Has our American obsession with media glory gone too far? It’s heady stuff to watch the numbers and links rise on your blog or to have friends see you on TV. But isn’t it time we stopped defining our individual worth by a personal Google ranking? It’s no longer enough to turn off the TV. We have to teach our kids to stop acting for the cameras’ attention now too.
