MEDIA HOAXSTER GETS TRIBUTE TREATMENT

MEDIA HOAXSTER GETS TRIBUTE TREATMENT

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) – It’s no joke: Play pranks long enough and you’ll be considered an artist. That’s what’s happening to media prankster Joey Skaggs, who is being honored tomorrow night (Jun. 5) at a New York comedy festival. For 35 years, Skaggs has devised elaborate hoaxes which the media have fallen for hook, line and sinker. Skaggs issued press releases and got coverage of completely bogus operations including a bordello for dogs, a cemetery amusement park and a scientific study that proved eating cockroaches made people immune to radiation. Skaggs says his schemes have a purpose: To force lazy journalists to research their facts. Still, he can’t believe how many news organizations are fooled repeatedly, including CNN and Good Morning America.

Mon 06-04-01