Whether you watch it in the morning before work or in the evening before bed, most people tune into the local news at some point during the day. While these programs are live, you often can’t tell: skilled anchors, techs, and producers flawlessly deliver you the news.
But every now and then, mistakes happen on set which reminds the viewers at home that, yep, these shows are definitely live! Even better, these 21 anchorperson goof ups and flubs had people watching the news roaring with laughter…
1. Phoenix weatherman Cory McCloskey showed a weather graphic that said it was going to be 2,690 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, this was a mistake, but still not terribly unbelievable for those living in Phoenix. “Get out while you still can,” he joked. In other weather news?
2. Global News reporter Rob Leth was waiting at the finish line of the Riverside Park toboggan race in Toronto, when one came straight for him. The reporter thought he could jump over it, but quickly found out he could not. Now, over to Tom for more from Toronto…
3. For a segment, Toronto meteorologist Tom Brown threw pumpkins to polar bears at the local zoo (don’t ask). But when he tossed a third pumpkin to the bears, he accidentally threw his microphone with it! (These bears did not catch the microphone).
4. Milwaukee reporter Angelica Duria let her viewers know how she felt about the cold when, reporting from the middle of a snow storm, she said “I’ve been here since, what, 3:30 this morning? I’m exhausted, I’ve run out of things to say. It is snowing, and it sucks here!”
5. When BBC News covered a serious topic — the impeachment of South Korean president Park Geun-hye — they turned to an expert in global politics, Robert Kelly. While on air, though, his daughter burst into his office and lightened the mood.
6. When 16-year-old Molly Bish went missing, Channel 3 news broadcasted the details of her suspected kidnapper. Unfortunately, producers flubbed a crucial detail, using a picture of a hamster instead of the suspect. More on animals next…
7. A parrot named Lola landed on reporter Brittany Kleyn’s shoulder while she reported live from the city’s courthouse. Thinking she was being attacked, the poor anchor panicked! The segment went viral, which helped reunite the lost parrot with her owner.
8. After Wendy Burch of the local Los Angeles news hosted a segment discussing the city’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, she could’ve won the gold metal for on-air reactions when an uninvited guest scared her half to death! Speaking of on-air frights…
9. Still in Los Angeles, anchors panicked when an earthquake shook the city. Fear plastered across their faces as they appropriately duck-and-covered beneath their desks. Viewers then watched an empty desk and shaking on-stage lights.
10. In the middle of a segment about Kylie Jenner’s rabbit, Bruce, Good Day Orlando’s John Brown exclaimed, “I’m sick of this family…Nobody cares about this family anymore.” Apparently, he didn’t get into journalism to keep up with the Kardashians.
11. CNN’s Don Lemon made some viewers uncomfortable during the channel’s 2016 New Years’ celebration show, when, in the true spirit of the holiday, he kept drinking tequila until, as his co-host said, it was “emitting from” his skin like sweat.
12. In what Chicago officials eventually called “The Most Excellent Technical Meltdown in Live Television News History,” the microphones on WGN-Channel 9 anchor’s cut out for 19 minutes. The anchors — not to be silenced — turned to dry erase boards to communicate.
13. During a segment at Fort Reilly army base, a swarm of massive cicadas ambushed Katya Leick from KSNT while she stood on a tank. She tried staying calm, but eventually, the bugs became too much — and too gross — for her. She lost it live on the air!
14. For more on bugs, look to Fox59’s Meteorologist Jennifer Ketchmark. She was hosting her weather segment when producers switched the camera feed to one overlooking Indianapolis. That camera happened to be in the middle of a fight with a hornet.
15. A reporter for the local NBC-affiliate news reported on the receding water levels of a lake. To emphasize just how low those levels were, he jumped from the dock into the dry lake bed…and sank up to his knees in mud!
16. When given the opportunity to interview the city’s mayor one-on-one, this Dutch reporter knew it would be a landmark moment in her journalism career. Standing too close to the ship’s starboard side, though, threw cold water on her opportunity!
17. Now over to North Dakota for more on missed opportunities! On his first day anchoring for Bismarck’s KFYR, A.J. Clemente accidentally swore on live television. He was fired the next day, and ended up working as a bar back and smoothie artist.
18. In Huntsville, Alabama, a local news anchor read the breaking news scrolling across the teleprompter. Swept up in reading, she didn’t realize the breaking news was actually her boyfriend proposing to her — so, as he planned, she read his proposal live on air!
19. Australia’s Nine News Now caught a fashion crisis on camera when all three on-screen personalities wore white! Before the segment went live, though, anchor Amber Sherlock (middle) harped on Julie Snook (left) until she put a black jacket on.
20. And here’s an Orange County station with more on fashion: Producers handed KTLA meteorologist Liberte Chan a sweater for covering up after they kept “getting a lot of emails” during her morning segment. With the sweater, she said, she looked like a librarian.
21. But stations aren’t always strict with dress codes! In part because of her fashion sense, Puerto Rico’s outstanding and exuberant weather forecaster Jackie Guerrido Rico became a morning staple for the station’s male and female audiences.
On live television, anything can happen. But hey — that’s what makes it a must-see!
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