When someone says they’re going to host a Quran burning, it’s worth some coverage. But this pastor took it to an excessive level by appearing on the Today Show.

It’s pretty clear to everyone that the Florida pastor who planned to burn the Quran Saturday was asking for attention.

No matter what your opinion is on the proposed Park 51 project (or Ground Zero Mosque), burning a Quran is not an acceptable way to show your opposition. And it was certainly not the right way to honor those who died in the terrorist attack nine years ago.

Even after initially canceling the event, the same Floridian pastor (who we chose not to name) attempted to become a mediator for Park 51. He even had the nerve to fly to New York and appear on the Today Show Saturday morning.

Blaming the media has become a tiresome cliché, but this case truly deserves that criticism. We are not fans of self-censorship, and the story was worth at least a few brief paragraphs. But when someone clearly has radical views, why would a news organization interview the person on live TV?

What value does this pastor’s opinion add to the story? Sure, people are pretty mad about Park 51, but there are plenty of intelligent opponents that could have at least given some rational viewpoints.

Instead, the whole thing gained much more momentum than deserved, and soon the guy was on every news channel. And by the look on his face, he loved every second of it. You can tell he was even surprised by all the coverage, as it appeared he had never given a press conference before.

But in the end, he became last week’s hot news and definitely took advantage of his place in primetime.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.