Why is the media obsessed with the baloon boy hoax?

I think the most remarkable -- and disturbing -- things about this "balloon boy" crap is how many AP journalists names are listed as contributing to the coverage. Wonder how many are assigned to health care or other stories that actually have an impact on people.

See http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon;_ylt=At9nk05OjonTvmM1jNAJqBys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2M2o3YXU1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDE4L3VzX2JveV9pbl9iYWxsb29uBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDc2hlcmlmZmNoYXJn

Posted via web from Doug's posterous