In Case You Missed It: Stupid Parent Tricks, Tanorexia Led the Week’s TV Play
Many of us news junkies thought the tanning-addicted New Jersey mom would be the undisputed unintended celebrity on American television this last week.
That is, until video taken at an Oregon zoo evoked gasps from viewers who witnessed a hungry lion attempting to eat an adorable infant dressed in a zebra-striped outfit.
The common denominator in each of these heavily aired and socially shared segments: an innocent kid and parents who exercised questionable judgment.
A check of our Mention Meter at 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday found 201,000 instances of TV and radio coverage of Patricia Krentcil, the Nutley, N.J., mom whose monthly unlimited tanning privileges were revoked after she was charged with child endangerment for allegedly taking her 5-year-old daughter to the tanning salon. Included were a mere 20 mentions of the term “tanorexia,” which was introduced into the coverage late Thursday.
Dwarfing the copper-hewed mom – at 364,000 mentions – was dramatic footage of Kya, a lioness at the Portland Zoo, furiously pawing at the mercifully thick glass separating the lion habitat from a baby.
So the week ended with plenty of newsjacking opportunities for media-savvy child psychologists, defenders and foes of tanning salons, zoos, makers of thick glass windows and, of course, those who promote and denigrate clothing that make toddlers look like tasty zebra snacks.
Go ahead and search the airwaves for a trend. The Mention Meter, below, is free and can power you through this weekend with all sorts of insights about the media. Let us know what you find.
(Critical Mention developed the Mention Meter for subscribers to compare and contrast search terms across TV and radio. Take a tour of the Critical Mention broadcast intelligence platform at http://www.criticalmention.com or call +1.212.398.1141.)
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