The Balloon Boy saga has, once again, shown journalists at their finest, and at their worst. Talk about a no-win situation!

For years, I worked in daily newspapers and nothing got the juices flowing more than a big, sexy breaking news story, which Balloon Boy's certainly seemed to be. And even now, as the investigation heats up, it remains a fascinating story -- an investigation into the psyche of those involved, an investigation into the cost of such a high-scale search, etc.

On Balloon Boy Day 1, I remember seeing, on CNN, Colorado TV reporter interviewing a 7-year-old friend of Falcon's. There was no way this was going to come off well, and it didn't. It was the type of journalism that makes us all, journalists and the rest of the world, cringe and think, "What are these people thinking?"
Is there any intelligent question to ask a 7-year-old boy who's friend might or might not be missing? Probably not. But here's a few I can promise you, because I saw them, didn't come off well:
"Is it scary that your friend might be in that balloon?"
Answer: Yes
"Will you miss your friend?"
Answer: yes
"So this is scary, right"
Answer: (This time me screaming at the TV: YES IT'S SCARY, YOU MORON. GO AWAY.)

Again, I know from tons of firsthand experience that stories like these, and most celebrity stories, can be no-win propositions for the reporters. Still, they don't have to make it that easy for us to cringe, right?