Boston Weekly Dig on TERROR HOAX OUTRAGE!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
Date: February 2, 2007 3:01:29 AM EST
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, David Farber  
<dave () farber net>
Subject: Boston Weekly Dig on TERROR HOAX OUTRAGE!

TERROR HOAX OUTRAGE!

by Joe Keohane2/1/2007

http://weeklydig.com/blog/articles/terror_outrage
I’ll proffer my comments on the marketing stunt perpetrated by the  
Cartoon Network (three weeks ago), but first, a sampling of the  
hysteria presently gripping our fair city.

“The hoax on us: But we’re not laughing”—Herald headline

“They can’t perpetrate a hoax like this on the public.”—Mayor Menino

“Scaring an entire region, tying up the T and major roadway, and  
forcing first responders to spend 12 hours chasing down trinkets  
instead of terrorists is marketing run amok.” –Rep. Ed Markey

“You’d have to go back to ‘War of the Worlds’ … We would all agree  
that this crossed a line.”—Jamie Tedford, Arnold Worldwide

“What our city experienced today is intolerable.  The actions of this  
company for an apparent ‘marketing campaign’ not only inconvenienced  
our entire city but awoke painful memories of September 11th in so  
many hearts and minds.  I look forward to the results of a full  
investigation.” --Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney

“OK, so when will the people of Boston see Ted Turner and his nitwit  
marketing gurus marched into federal court in handcuffs and leg  
irons? Because that’s exactly what should happen.”—Herald editorial

“It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use  
this type of marketing scheme.  I am prepared to take any and all  
legal action against Turner Broadcasting and its affiliates for any  
and all expenses incurred during the response to today’s incidents.   
Boston will look to coordinate our efforts going forward with  
Cambridge, Somerville and any other affected agencies.”—Mayor Menino,  
again

“Perpetrators of terror hoaxes face prison sentences of up to five  
years if convicted. Police arrested an Arlington man last night in  
connection with the ad stunt, but potential criminal prosecution is  
only one consideration. The tricksters at Turner, a unit of Time  
Warner Inc., should pay the bill for the consequences of a lame  
marketing gimmick.”—The Globe’s Adrian Walker

“Terrorism hoaxes are common. Two years ago, a drug addict and  
smuggler gave a fake tip about a terrorist incursion in Boston that  
led to another massive mobilization of law enforcement. In 2005, an  
angry deportee used a fake threat that forced officials to close a  
tunnel under Baltimore’s harbor. Turner officials say their devices  
were never meant to be seen as threats. Yet they find themselves in  
bad company.” – Globe editorial

“Let’s hope Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s planned lawsuit against Turner  
is successful to recoup the city’s damages, and his complaints to the  
FCC are heeded. Let’s hope that Berdovsky or whoever the little punks  
are that planted the 38 promotional cartoon ‘toys’ in Boston,  
Somerville and Cambridge will see the inside of a jail cell. ‘You  
cannot put a price on the harm that was done to individuals,’ Menino  
told me. He’s right. For all of us who lived through the horror of  
9/11 and its terrible aftermath, that harm is immeasurable.”—The  
Herald’s Michelle McPhee

OK, folks. That’s quite enough.

I suppose it was inevitable that someday the pop culture gap would  
result in an entire city being shut down and the “perps” being frog  
marched into some Homeland Security gulag, but I had always hoped it  
would be a second- or third-rate hee-haw flyover city, not Boston.

Because what happened here was an embarrassment. Turner Broadcasting  
launched this marketing stunt in 10 cities and we were the only one  
that reacted like this. Some people are saying it’s to our credit  
that we’re so “observant,” but I have a hard time believing that any  
serious person could say that with a straight face. Plus the devices  
have been up for three weeks before we even noticed.

Next, let’s all get out our dictionary and look up “hoax”, shall we?  
Because while “War of the Worlds” was a hoax, this was not. There was  
no subterfuge involved, and no effort made to convince people that  
these devices were bombs. If I see a scary looking tree out my  
bedroom window, think it’s a monster, and then discover upon closer  
inspection that it isn’t, it doesn’t mean the tree has perpetrated a  
hoax against me. What it means is that for a moment I took leave of  
my senses. And just because I’m embarrassed about it doesn’t give me  
the right to go cut down the tree.

But that’s what our Mayor—who is often at his absolute worst in  
situations like this—is looking to do. Two kids who put the devices  
up have been arrested and are facing charges of placing a hoax device  
in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct—charges that carry  
up to five years in prison.

But that’s not enough. The mayor also wants the half-mil the city  
blew thwarting the attack yesterday reimbursed by Turner Broadcasting  
and said he plans to push the FCC to revoke Turner’s broadcasting  
license, even though Turner—which owns TBS, TNT, CNN and Cartoon  
Network—is a cable provider and therefore not under the jurisdiction  
of the FCC.

What might be most telling about the mayor’s towering outrage,  
however, is found in the Globe’s lengthy report today: “Menino was  
also upset, he said, because top executives at Turner Broadcasting  
did not contact him directly to discuss what happened. The mayor said  
he did not receive a call from the company until about 9pm, and it  
was from a low-ranking press official.”

First these al-Cable bastards terrorize the city—or at least city and  
state officials, because as far as I could see there was no panic  
among actual citizens—then they have the audacity not to send Turner  
CEO Philip Kent over to City Hall in person bearing a fruit basket  
and a lengthy, teary apology. Well, act like a small-town mayor, and  
ye shall be treated like a small-town mayor.

The stunt wasn’t wise. It worked from a PR perspective, but people  
tend to slip easily into hysterics these days, and that should have  
been taken under consideration. Still, I have a hard time buying all  
this outrage. I’m guessing the better part of it stems from  
embarrassment at so grossly overreacting.

NOTE: For what it’s worth, the Globe’s Ideas blog (http:// 
www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/brainiac/)—which one Dig staffer just  
referred to as “a lone island in the shape of a brain over there”—got  
it right.

ANOTHER NOTE: The Washington Post is totally scoring off us on this  
one. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/31/ 
AR2007013102434.html)


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Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
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