“We’re good, Tim”

This reporter has a future — fortunately:

WTAE-TV's newest reporting hire, Tori Yorgey, goes viral after being struck by car on live TV

 

Not sure what the set-up was, reporters don't one-man-band live shots do they? But dang being a TV news reporter is a rough gig. The idiots running by and being jerks, there have been a few who have been robbed of all of their equipment, standing out in the cold waiting for an 11 p.m. live hit of an event that happened six hours earlier, maybe heading to the mountains to show snow and facing a two-hour plus drive back.

 

I'm sure he couldn't see what happened, but Tim just has this look on his face like, "So are we going to hear about that water main break or what?"

 

Over the last 5-10 years, we're seeing much more of a shift to solo one-man-band live shots. I was hoping, after the 2015 killing of a morning live reporter in Virginia by a fired co-worker, that the industry would change (fewer "live-to-be-live" shots) but it's only gotten worse.

The anchor's response was rather jarring. He came across as wildly disinterested, while the reporter came across as apologetic that she couldn't even finish the story. He needed to "break the fourth wall" a bit and be real and concerned.

 

We don't do one-man-band live shots here. I don't know where they might be happening but we're certainly not doing it.

I've seen people posting stuff to the effect of "remember, that anchor can only see the PrompTer -- he can't see what's going out on air," which is largely bullshit. He's got monitors. His reaction is just weird.

 

Honestly, that wasn't just a tap and I wonder if she was actually hurt

 

Boy, it's lucky it appeared the back of her leg caught the corner of the bumper and that sort of pushed her away from the wheel. She's tougher than some of the people she'll be covering in Pittsburgh. Maybe the Steelers helmet will come in handy. And how the hell did the driver not see her, or was she having issues with the bright TV lights?

Standups for the sake of standups still make no sense to me. And yeah, the anchor unfortunately comes off as a putz.

Plus, what an odd quote at the end of the story:

“I really, really like to IMPACT people and make a difference in their communities and try to get the best and most accurate information out to them so they can make the best decision for their lives,” Yorgey told the Post-Gazette. “I love having that responsibility, and the trust I have with anyone I come IN CONTACT WITH is something I’ve never taken for granted and never will.”

Don't make it a habit, Tori.

 

During my stint in television, I did a few one-man band live-shots. Most of them had screw-ups; two in particular were on-air disasters. Then again, now that I think about it, probably half of the two-man band live-shots at that shop ended up having snafus.

For one-man reports, I first had to drive the microwave truck to the site, turn on all the equipment including sending the tower up cautiously trying to avoid power lines. How I set up my on-air shot was by taking the light stand and cranking the light itself up in front of the camera to my approximate height. Would check the camera to see if the light was centered (and focused) in the shot. If not, it was adjusted accordingly. Mind you, all of this was usually done in a hurry thus increasing the possibility for mistakes, miscues, unfortunate circumstances, what have you.

I can look back now on those days in television with humor, even the night the bottom of my dress shirt was sticking through my unzipped fly.

 

I certainly don't understand the news value of having a reporter doing a remote from, say, a city council or school board meeting, hours after the event has taken place unless they just can't get back to the studio in time. But "live, local, late-breaking ..."

 

Yes, quite often. I see our local crews out frequently doing standups about traffic, construction or other topics. They pop up the tripod, get it all situated and wait for the chance to nod during the intro before giving their riveting update.

At least they're actually outside, instead of the "Let's go live to Muffy in the newsroom for the report."

 

An update that usually seems to last about 30 seconds but basically nuked the reporter's entire evening because they had to be out there at 10:05 p.m. instead of wrapping things up by 7.
Our local news originates from a rather crime-ridden city, and every time I see a reporter standing in front of a darkened municipal building for a 10 p.m. live shot I'm just hoping they don't catch a stray bullet. Oakland, in particular, seems to have a problem with its news crews getting robbed. I think I've read about it happening several times in the past couple of years there.