Turner in trouble again

Speaking of Turner Broadcasting...

The company has been asked by the city of Boston to compensate them for the panic that ensued due to a marketing campaign that included several small cartoon lightboards.

According to the city, an anonymous caller alerted city officials to a suspicious device hanging from a tunnel. The device, and several like it, were placed all over the city. Since the cartoon lightboards were placed at several transportation areas, they were treated as bombs and as a possible terrorist attack.

The mayor of Boston said the city's public-safety response cost more than $500,000.

The lighted cartoons were created to promote "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a show on Adult Swim, a late night cartoon show on Turner-owned Cartoon Network.

Due to the incident, Turner took out full page ads in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

In the ads, Turner said: "We never intended this outcome and certainly did not set out to perpetrate a hoax. What we did is inadvertently cause a great American city to deal with the unintended impact of this marketing campaign. For this, we are deeply sorry."

Certainly Turner's crisis management team has come out in full force, but I think the whole thing is completely ridiculous.

For one thing, the cartoon lightboards were up in nine other major cities (including Chicago) for two-three weeks without incident. They were also up in the city of Boston for weeks before anything happened.

A quick check of one of the devices would have made it clear to authorities that they were indeed not bombs and not a threat.

I just don't think Turner should have to pay the city of Boston restitution for public safety officials doing their job.

I see the other side to this though. Certainly we live in an age when terrorist attacks are on the minds of every American, especially those in public office. The 9/11 terrorists took over planes with just utensils; who knows what these lighted cartoons could have been disguised as.

I think there needs to be a happy medium between protecting this country, and taking every little thing as a terrorist attack. Unfortunately I don't know what that happy medium is. I don't think our leaders know either.

How do you find the fine line between tapping phone conversations between potential terrorists and tapping my conversation with friends about the night before? How do you find the line between stopping the wrong people from getting on airplanes and racially profiling?

I don't know the answer.

What I do know is, those lighted cartoons in Boston were just cartoons. I don't think Turner should have to pay the city for advertising their cartoon show.

JE