Balloon Boy and other attention-grabbers
It was a typical Thursday afternoon here in the Current LA office. All of us here in Vanguard were working on our monitor tans as we plugged away in front of our computers, enjoying the quiet under the white noise of the air conditioner. Then Senior Producer Darren Foster walked in and said, "Guys, turn on CNN, the most incredible story is on right now!" We tuned in right away and watched live news coverage of what looked like a homemade hot-air balloon floating through the sky like it was a scene straight out of a Roald Dahl children's book.
Only, this was real. For a good 20 minutes, a dozen of us stood huddled around the television as we watched a homebuilt balloon fly 7,000 feet in the air holding what we believed was a little six-year-old boy inside. We were glued to the news and even as we each turned back to our computers to get back to work, we couldn't help but keep at least one ear open to hear the developments of this bizarre and captivating sequence of events.
The Balloon Boy story is not exactly what you'd call a Vanguard story--there are no huge global implications caused by this nor is this a look at how the people and places in our world are changing in pivotal ways. It's just kind of a freak show, and it's old news even as I write this. But it certainly did do something that we aim to do in each of our stories -- it grabbed people's attention. What's more, it made people curious not just about the incident itself, but about the little boy's family, their history, the connection this story has to the man who flew around Los Angeles in a lawn chair in 1982...you name it. My point is, Vanguard tries to be just as compelling, and it can certainly be a challenge when a lot of our subjects aren't the sexiest or most alluring.
But just like today's Balloon Boy headliner, we try accomplish the same kind of natural curiosity around our stories. We hope that after you watch one of our documentaries, you'll want to know more than just what you've learned in the episode and are motivated to do your own investigations.
We got off to a great start to our season with the premiere of "The OxyContin Express". If you missed it, you can watch it here:
I hope you tune in to the remainder of our amazing lineup and are inspired to learn more about the stories we explore. Only, don't expect any homemade flying saucers...just some quality journalism and compelling storytelling.
Only, this was real. For a good 20 minutes, a dozen of us stood huddled around the television as we watched a homebuilt balloon fly 7,000 feet in the air holding what we believed was a little six-year-old boy inside. We were glued to the news and even as we each turned back to our computers to get back to work, we couldn't help but keep at least one ear open to hear the developments of this bizarre and captivating sequence of events.
The Balloon Boy story is not exactly what you'd call a Vanguard story--there are no huge global implications caused by this nor is this a look at how the people and places in our world are changing in pivotal ways. It's just kind of a freak show, and it's old news even as I write this. But it certainly did do something that we aim to do in each of our stories -- it grabbed people's attention. What's more, it made people curious not just about the incident itself, but about the little boy's family, their history, the connection this story has to the man who flew around Los Angeles in a lawn chair in 1982...you name it. My point is, Vanguard tries to be just as compelling, and it can certainly be a challenge when a lot of our subjects aren't the sexiest or most alluring.
But just like today's Balloon Boy headliner, we try accomplish the same kind of natural curiosity around our stories. We hope that after you watch one of our documentaries, you'll want to know more than just what you've learned in the episode and are motivated to do your own investigations.
We got off to a great start to our season with the premiere of "The OxyContin Express". If you missed it, you can watch it here:
I hope you tune in to the remainder of our amazing lineup and are inspired to learn more about the stories we explore. Only, don't expect any homemade flying saucers...just some quality journalism and compelling storytelling.
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