Audio By Carbonatix
Today is Local News Day
A national day of action to support and celebrate the trusted local journalism that strengthens communities. If you believe local news matters — this is the day to show your support. Make a contribution today to help keep our reporting free and accessible to all.
KDFW-Channel 4
It’s a pretty good bet that when Priscilla Ceballos told WFAA-Channel 8’s Byron Harris last week that she didn’t want to be on camera for faking her daughter’s contest-winning Hannah Montana essay, she didn’t figure on making national and international headlines days later. But, hey, shit happens. Like, this morning Ceballos’ story — both the sadly true and stupidly false parts — made it to Good Morning America, where a parenting expert called Ceballos’ decision to make up a dead baby-daddy “tragic,” which seems a bit of an overstatement till you realize, yeah, that 6-year-old girl with the fake dead daddy may wind up in a therapy session or two.
And Ceballos’ story has cut a wide swath, from the BBC (which quotes the Associated Press story that quotes from KDFW-Channel 4’s interview Friday with Ceballos) to Gawker-family music blog Idolator. The latter pretty much pegs it, describing this as “the year America abandoned its senses for Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter.” Priscilla Ceballos, you’re our Texan of the Year! –Robert Wilonsky
