The balloon goes up

So it looks like young Falcon Heene's balloon flight was a hoax concocted to land a reality television show. The boy's parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, of Fort Collins, Colorado, US, are facing charges over Thursday's incident.

Investigators are also examining the possibility of other conspirators, "including", according to Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, "the possibility that even some of the media outlets may have had some knowledge about this".

So what does the coverage of the incident say about the news values of those media outlets, both here and in the United States? That was one of the questions that the BBC's US correspondent, Matt Frei, put to the former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather on last night's edition of Americana.

Granted, it didn't take long for journalists to smell a rat; a remark by six-year-old Falcon in a CNN interview kick-started rumours that his disappearance could have been a hoax.

But I wonder how many journalists said 'hang on a minute' when the story broke. How many took it at face value?

For sure it pressed all the buttons: jeopardy, emotion, a cute kid and distraught but articulate parents. And it all ended happily for Falcon - the little rascal had been hiding in the garage all along. Cue hair-tousling, toothy smile and end credits.

Then there's the other question Rather raises about editors who were persuaded to lead with the story because somebody from the 'front office' dropped by the newsroom to talk ratings. You'd have thought the proliferation of television news channels would lead to greater diversification, more choice. But, says Rather, that herd instinct is hard to break:

"All too often somebody gets out in front ... and everybody else falls in line. Part of that is based on fear. The fear you may subject yourself to a good deal of criticism. Someone will probably say 'elitist'. You know what? Out of touch - out of touch with people."

Maybe that's why Rather chose the word 'courage' as his sign-off - because courage is something journalists need in spades.