JOHN STOSSEL HYPING ANTI-HYPE SPECIAL

JOHN STOSSEL HYPING ANTI-HYPE SPECIAL

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) -- When is hype not hype? That's what ABC reporter John Stossel is still trying to figure out for an upcoming special, "Hype With John Stossel," which will air Friday (Dec. 22). Although he's skeptical about the need for hoopla, he admits he's guilty of succumbing to it in order to promote his own specials. In fact, the journalist was even willing to do things like sit on a flag pole to promote the show -- although he's glad he didn't actually have to do it. Stossel admits that hyping things has been an American tradition ever since P.T. Barnum sewed a monkey's face onto a fish's body and called it the "Fiji Mermaid." However, he says there's a fine line between hype and hysteria and the same techniques used to promote movies can be used for evil purposes such as when William Randolph Hearst made up stories to force America into the Spanish- American War.