Turner must pay for nitwit stunt
By Boston Herald editorial staff
Thursday, February 1, 2007

OK, so when will the people of Boston see Ted Turner and his nitwit marketing gurus marched into federal court in handcuffs and leg irons?
    Because that's exactly what should happen. Oh sure, he'll offer to write the check - and he damned well ought to be made to write a whopping big one for the resources wasted yesterday over his little guerrilla marketing campaign. But frankly that's not nearly enough to make amends for the chaos caused here.
    The first "device" was spotted during morning rush hour near the Sullivan Station T stop. The incident forced the closing of Interstate 93, causing a traffic tie-up that lasted more than two hours. How do you even put a price on the lost productivity?


    The Red Line was shut down for a time, the Charles River closed to boating, bridges and other roadways including Storrow Drive temporarily closed as the afternoon wore on.
    The only good news was that this test of city and state public safety efforts and coordination worked darned well. And the public responded with admirable calm and patience.
    But there are still a number of unanswered questions for officials at Turner Broadcasting. (And how unfortunate at a time like this that torture has been outlawed. Bet those who sat in traffic this morning would pay good money to see Turner himself water-boarded.)
    Turner's CNN was among the first to report the story of the "device" found and later detonated under I-93. That was around 9 a.m. It wasn't until 5 p.m. that Turner Broadcasting issued a press release fessing up to the whole thing as a marketing ploy. As Police Commissioner Ed Davis said, "This has taken a signficant toll on our resources."
    Someone needs to pay for that.