Usually, they’re pretty successful. But not all the time, and that’s what this article is about. What follows is a collection of the times news anchors, reporters, and other news figures who messed up or were caught off guard a little bit – for good or for bad.
A Shocking Confession
Live news shows aren't where you normally see surprising confessions, but there's a first time for everything. Alaskan news anchor Charlo Greene ended up getting worldwide attention for confessing something eye-popping during a segment.
The segment was about the Alaskan Cannabis Club, a group fighting for marijuana legalization in the state. At the end of the segment, Greene made herself the biggest story by revealing that she OWNED the club! At the same time as revealing that, live and on the air, Greene quit her job to focus all of her energy on furthering the cause of the club.
All Washed Up
BBC Sports anchor Mike Bushell is a veteran of interviewing people, but even he has a misstep every once in a while. This was all too literal when he interviewed a group of swimmers who had succeeded in Australia. Bushell was confident that this would go just like any other interview and had no problem doing it next to the pool.
However, he only got out a single word (“Congratulations”) before his foot slipped and he fell into the water. While his microphone was ruined and his clothes were soaked, we're pretty sure his ego suffered the water damage!
Third Time's a Charm?
None of us like to mess up at work, so it's important to keep trying to get things right. However, Emily Walker might have to learn the best time to pack it in. Walker was the Four Seasons of Toronto Wine Director, and during a segment on a local Canadian news program, she demonstrated her ability to open a bottle of wine with a saber.
The first time, she shattered the bottle, soaking herself and reporter Steve Darling. Instead of giving up, Walker tried a different bottle, but she once again fumbled the trick, exploding wine over them once again. The show did not invite the Wine Director back. Cheers!
Now Featuring: My Dad's Big Belly
Jessica Lang, a reporter for Suncoast News Network in Tampa, like most of us recently discovered the challenges of working from home. However, those challenges are multiplied if you live with your parents!
Her mother, who was filming, suddenly stopped, confusing Lang, only to turn around and see her dad standing half-clothed behind her – and with quite the prodigious stomach front and center. Lang re-recorded the segment but ended up posting the mistake version on her Twitter account. She accompanied it with disbelief that people said it would be easier doing reporting from home.
On-Air Emergency
Handling the high the pressure job of a news anchor while also being pregnant can definitely take its strain. During an On-Air report, CNN anchor Poppy Harlow who was pregnant at the time suddenly started slurring her speech, talking slowly, and having trouble breathing.
With no explanation, CNN cut to a commercial. When the program came back, it was revealed that Harlow had gotten overheated, and she had even passed out for a moment. However, she was okay and was able to get back to work after a bit of a break.
The Great Flying Pumpkin
We've all embarrassed ourselves at work. While we often wish it would just go away, our co-workers have a habit of bringing the topic up over and over. CTV Toronto weather anchor Tom Brown knows the feeling. Brown was at the polar bear exhibit at the Toronto Zoo when the keepers offered him the chance to toss the bears' favorite treat to them: a delicious pumpkin.
Somehow, it took Brown three tries to even get the pumpkin into the exhibit, and when he finally did make it, he accidentally threw his microphone into the icy water as well. The station has a habit of replaying Brown's terrible toss on the weather map behind him.
One for the Record Books
If you're familiar with technical mishaps on news stations, you've probably heard of this one. It's been dubbed “The Most Excellent Technical Meltdown in Live Television News History.” How bad could it have been? Well, during the WGN Channel 9 evening news, the station lost audio for nineteen full minutes – when it comes to technical problems, that might as well be an eternity.
Only a single reporter could be heard, and despite the crew scrambling to figure something out, nothing would work. The anchors took the chance to write messages on whiteboards until they could use their voices again. Well, at least they weren't...board...
Hit by Pitch
One of the things people say about baseball is that it's a game of inches. Sophia Minnaert, a sideline reporter for Fox Sports, found that out the hard way during the Pittsburgh Pirates' win over the Brewers in 2013.
She was on the sideline, presenting the broadcast's Twitter poll, when a wild ball came out of nowhere and struck her hand, sending the microphone flying and leaving her in stunned shock. Minnaert was able to recover the mic and continue the segment, but it did take a few moments for her to get back into the reporter spirit. Still, all things considered, she barely missed a beat (although unfortunately, she also didn't miss a baseball).
Nothing Like a Refreshing Shower
Getting a Gatorade shower is nothing special when it comes to sports, but they usually leave sideline reporters out of it. It seems as if the Washington Nationals really wanted MASN reporter Julie Alexandra to be part of the team, however, since they keep including her.
After the Nats picked up a W in 2013, Alexandra got hit with a splash while interviewing pitcher Gio Gonzalez. The very next night, Alexandra was interviewing pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, who had just pitched a one-hitter. Zimmerman and Alexandra got hit with another shower, and we wonder if Alexandra had a long talk with the team after that.
Important Research
In an attempt to get away from the frustrations of life, Thomas Thwaites of Britain decided to live like a goat for a while. He ended up winning something called an “IG Nobel” prize, and when CTV News Winnipeg anchor Maralee Caruso reported on the story, she couldn't stop laughing. Because it's really funny.
She, apparently, could hardly believe the words coming out of her own mouth. While Caruso was trying to talk about the story, she kept laughing. The laughter spread to her co-anchors, who started struggling to keep it together. Caruso had to simply move on to the next story, without giving Thwait the credit he deserved!
Tucked in for a Nap
It might not seem like it at first, but news anchors have to work some pretty rough hours. You have to get up in the early hours of the morning, get to the station, change outfits, get makeup done, review notes, and who knows what else even before hitting the camera.
Add in the normal stresses of life, and this can make for a wonky sleep schedule. Infamous Fox anchor Tucker Carlson found that out when he fell asleep during one of “Fox & Friends” commercial breaks, and the show came back without even waking him up. His co-anchors had a good laugh at his expense, and they went on with the show.
Shaken Not Stirred
Even while they're safe and sound inside the studio, news anchors can still sometimes be in the line of danger. Of course, when an earthquake hits, they aren't the only ones. Still, the anchors of KTLA you see here had to deal with one while they were on the air.
The entire building started to shake, and one of the anchors yelled that they were having an earthquake before ducking under the desk on live TV. It was funny, but it was still the right move. A few people ended up mocking the man who was quick to get undercover.
All That Fresh Powder
News anchors sometimes end up taking some serious hits, but this one might be the worst of them all. Fox29 reporter Steve Keeley was reporting in the icy conditions one morning in Woodstown, New York when a snowplow drove much too close to where he and his crew had set up.
Keeley turned around just as the snowplow approached, and a massive wave of snow knocked him to the ground. It helped to prove the point he was trying to make, which was to stay inside, but it looked pretty bad. His co-anchor Chris Murphy praised him for braving the storm... pun intended we hope!
Hello?... It's Me!
Connection glitches and delays are just part of the job when you're a TV news reporter. While it's a fairly common occurrence, it doesn't make it any less funny!
In 2018, BBC meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker was a victim of a gltich. Schafernaker loudly called “Hello?!” to the station a few times and received no response. Assuming he was off the air, he picked his nails and arranged his clothing, and even got frustrated with the lack of communication, all while thousands of people watched in confused delight!
Uncaged Birds
Local news can be a little lackluster at times, but one event on the San Diego news station KFMB was anything but! Anchor Nichelle Medina was reporting on up-and-coming additions to the San Diego Zoo when one of those additions (Sophie, a 10-year-old scarlet ibis) got away from her handler and flew right into the live shot!
Sophie then perched on top of Medina's head before taking off toward co-anchor Eric Kahnert. To say Sophie ruffled the News Station's feathers is an understatement!
An Unsteady Segment
Heading out to the great outdoors for a live broadcast seems to be the most dangerous thing that most news reporters have to do, and most of them turn out fine. Every once in a while, however, the cameras catch them when they aren't at their best.
If you had the cameras on you as much, it would happen to you, too. Reporter M.A. Rosko wasn't prepared for strong winds while she was wearing ice skates, and she toppled to the ice with a sickening thud. We don't know how much it hurt, since the station cut away immediately, but she is still working, so clearly there wasn't too much damage. We just hope that her job wasn't on thin ice after the flop.
But What Are YOU Doing?
The former news anchor Sue Simmons, at WNBC, is an icon in the industry. She worked for New York Channel 4 for over thirty years, appearing on millions of TVs, and she was a leading figure in the journalism world. However, she's had her fair share of bloopers.
Her most infamous one was when viewers heard her shout at her co-anchor, Chuck Scarborough. She shouted “What the [frick] are you doing?” as a live news teaser ran – Simmons had no idea they were live. She apologized immediately for the outburst, but people still bring it up, even after her retirement.
Ripple Effect
As the saying goes, "Dogs are a man's best friend." Sure, but that's not always true when that man happens to be on air. Weatherman Mike Sobel learned while he was trying to give his forecast.
His station had just run a story on the Edmonton Humane Society, and one of the featured animals, a loveable mastiff named Ripple, wasn't done with the camera just yet. Rippel wanted more than his 15 seconds of fame and crashed Sobel's weather forecast. Amazingly, this performance got Ripple his own show just a few days later. Guess that's showbusiness baby!
What Kind of Weather Is That?
Weather reporters often get some of the worst assignments. They often have to head into dangerous storms, heavy snow, and other elements to make sure people know what's going on. And while Global News weather reporter Rob Leth thought that a tubing hill would be a cake assignment for once, he was plenty wrong.
Moments before finishing the report, one of the tubers hit Leth head-on, sending him flying head over heels. While he landed in soft snow, Leth still clearly took a hard hit. However, he was able to walk the flip off and even managed to send it back to the station before having to sit down to recover.
A Bit Too Much to Drink
There are plenty of anchors that have bloopers floating around on the internet, but what about veteran anchor for CNN, Don Lemon? Even he has a few mistakes that he'd like to remove from the world wide web. During the network's 2017 New Year's Eve coverage, the famous reporter had a few to drink and decided to loosen up a little bit.
He was actually reporting at the time, but he started to lose control. Co-host Brooke Baldwin commented on his drink of choice, and then Lemon talked about if he should get a pierced ear. There was another body part in the discussion as well. Yikes!
And After Labor Day, Too
Female reporters are expected to look presentable every time they're on camera, and sometimes that means there are issues. For example, all three women on Australia's Nine News Now wore white for a segment. Amber Sherlock (in the middle) took umbrage with Julie Snook (on the left) for not changing, and the argument grew into a real fight.
Neither realized the mics and cameras were picking them up. Julie Snook eventually changed into a black blazer, but not before a couple of sharp comments were thrown around. Snook threatened to leave the segment entirely. The argument wasn't live, but the footage still found its way to the internet.
He Was Immediately Signed by the Vikings
During a report from the Minneapolis sports bar Union Bar & Grill, Lee Valsvik, an NBC anchor found herself a little too close to the gridiron action. For some reason, her cameraman thought it would be a good idea to sack her from behind in a mock football play.
He slammed into her, sending her flying over a nearby table, knocking plates and glasses onto the ground, and upsetting plenty of furniture. Incredibly, Valsvik was a good sport about the busted play – she can also be heard shouting “I'm okay!” from off-camera. Phew!
Do We Detect Some Hard Feelings?
There might be a little bit going on behind the scenes between the graphics team of ABC 7 out of Sarasota, Florida, and anchor Hayley Wielgus. When Wielgus started presenting a story about wild pigs causing destruction in the city, a big piggy snout was overlaid on top of her face.
While this seems bad, the graphics team had merely put the picture in the wrong space for a moment before moving it to the left side of the screen, where it belonged. Was this really just a simple mistake, or was the graphic supposed to tell us something about Wielgus?
It's Like She's Part of the Team
Laura Rutledge was working the sideline at a University of Georgia vs. University of Massachusetts football game in 2018, but she was a little closer to the action than she expected. The play went over to her side of the field, and Georgia player Prather Hudson slammed into her, knocking her to the ground during her segment.
She wasn't badly hurt, so she was able to laugh it off and keep reporting. After the game, Hudson tweeted an apology for knocking her down and offered to “pick her up” at seven. The date didn't go through, since Laura is married to professional baseball player Josh Rutledge.
We Feel Like This Could Have Been Avoided
The last few years have been...interesting. To say the least. A lot of us spent far too much time in our homes, without any way to get outside or see other people, and there were plenty of challenges associated with those. ABC News reporter Will Reeve knows that too well.
For a segment with Good Morning America, Reeve set up his own camera but might have forgotten something important – his pants. Yes, Reeve was on national news without wearing pants. In no time at all, Twitter was lighting him up. Why wouldn't you wear pants, Reeve? Just some sweatpants, something. It's not that hard.
All Kinds of Done
Lots of things can happen on live television – that's why most people watch it. One example includes when ESPN's Hannah Storm was talking to Nation Cowboys reporter Todd Archer. They were in the middle of a live interview when Todd Archer simply turned and walked away from the camera.
Storm handled this odd occurrence like the pro she is, calmly shifting the station to a commercial. She even tweeted about it afterward. Todd Archer never addressed the strange end to the segment. He might have thought that the segment had ended, or maybe Storm's question about Tony Romo's retirement got him all charged up.
Face It!
Even though WLOS ABC 13's Justin Hinton was doing nothing more than a report on a recent snowstorm during a special live broadcast on Facebook, the report became famous for another reason. Hinton was using Facebook Live, which has something called a Mystery Mask filter – it adds special overlays to turn you into different characters.
Hinton had enabled this at a previous time and had forgotten to turn it off before his report. Hinton didn't know it was even happening until he started looking at the comments on Facebook. People loved the broadcast, and the station even shared the segment later with a cheeky caption.
Weather That You Can't Ignore
When Los Angeles meteorologist Liberte Chan stepped in front of the green screen to talk about temps, viewers got a bit of a shock. Her dress was too similar to the color of the screen, on which the weather overlay is projected, practically turning her invisible. A colleague used some quick thinking to give Chan a blazer so she could go on with the weather.
Hmm, maybe Chan was trying to start a new fashion trend? Cloudy camouflage anyone?
The One We All Know
If you were paying attention to the news – the news about the news, at least – you almost certainly heard about this one. Korean expert Robert Kelly was on-air from his home when his daughter opened the door and stepped inside, strutting up toward the camera.
To make matters even funnier, Kelly's youngest daughter then followed! With almost superhuman speed came Mom to the rescue, who snagged the girls and was out of the room in a flash. Still. The clip went viral, with thousands of people enjoying it.
And Everybody Agreed With Him
All of us have to do work that doesn't interest us sometimes, even if we're highly-paid on-air reporters. Sometimes you just have enough of it, like John Brown during a segment on Good Day Orlando.
The segment was all about Kylie Jenner, who, it had just been revealed, had named her new pet rabbit Bruce. Brown went off on the Kardashians and the Jenners, calling the entire clan a non-story, and that nobody cares anymore. The video of his rant went viral, and there were plenty of people who took his side on the issue. If we stopped reporting on them, they might just go away.
We Can Do What Now?
Reporters have something really cool they can use to make sure they know what to say – it's called a teleprompter, and they've been in use for decades. That doesn't mean they still can't get things messed up if they try to ad lib. One Canadian news anchor was leading into the weather forecast and said “maybe we can canoodle before you get into it” to the female weather reporter.
Gross! The reporter was quite shocked and immediately rejected the offer. While canoodle, to most people, means to cuddle, this reporter apparently thought it meant to have some chit-chat. The anchor begged for the camera to get moved off of him so he could suffer his embarrassment in peace.
Barking Mad
Working from home sometimes has its problems, such as when you have a noisy and rambunctious dog as part of your household. Meteorologist Scott Connell discovered this the hard way while he was trying to record his segment.
His dog Maple decided it was her job to disrupt the repeated takes that Connell had to try until he got one right. While he did eventually get out a clean one, the many outtakes included Connell yelling at Maple to leave the cat alone, comments that the dog wasn't happy, and sarcastically counting the number of takes. The outtakes made it online, and plenty of people were able to commiserate.
Big News at the Station
As the movies tell us, sometimes news anchors can be so into their jobs that they'll read anything that the teleprompter shows them – that's why it's so important to hire the best writers. There are lots of possibilities of anchors saying awkward things, but Jillian Pavlica, an Alabama anchor, did something of the opposite.
Pavlica's boyfriend had convinced someone at the station to write a marriage proposal to her, so she would read it on air. It was a joke breaking-news segment, and thankfully for everyone involved, she said yes. Afterward, the weatherman said that there was a one hundred percent chance of tears of joy that night.
You Have the Wrong Guy
News stations have lots of mistakes – but this one is a bit different. Guy Goma was sitting in the BBC lobby, about to interview for a tech position. Guy Kewney, a technology expert, was also waiting in the lobby, about to be interviewed on live TV.
A news producer approached Goma and asked him if he was Guy. The answer being yes, Goma quickly found himself on live TV, answering questions he wasn't expecting when it came to a tech support position. He was able to predict the rise of downloadable music, though. And he didn't even get the IT job he was initially after!
Both Meanings of “Anchor”
A reporter making a big splash is usually a good thing, but not always. For example, Dutch reporter Martje Oesterholt was once interviewing the mayor of a town ahead of the town's Easter Festival.
They were filming on a boat when Oesterholt lost her balance and tumbled into the water. Chaos immediately broke out as the reporter floundered. The mayor attempted to reel her in using his mayoral chain, and her sound guy used his boom mic to drag her back to the boat. Thankfully, Oesterholt wasn't hurt in the fall. If anything she just rocked the broadcast boat for the day!
Unlucky Slip
News anchors have to keep their tongues under control, but even these professional communicators can let something slip every once in a while. Thus it was that Virginia's WDBJ7 Holly Pietrzak dropped the big one while she was doing a segment about summer jobs.
Instead of saying “kids are having luck finding summer jobs” she said...well, it rhymes with luck, anyway. Pietrzak calmly continued with the segment, but the damage had already been done. However, after an on-air apology the next day, people were ready to forgive and forget. Still, her slip is one for the record books – how many times does a news anchor drop the f-bomb while reporting?
Kiss Cam
When famous sports reporter Erin Andrews was covering the Daytona 500 in Florida in 2013, she was brushing elbows with plenty of famous people, including rapper 50 Cent – but Fiddy had more than elbows in mind. Mr. Cent was apparently excited to see Andrews and gave her an unexpected kiss on the cheek.
Gah! Is there anything more cringe-inducing that an unwanted kiss?!
How Very Heroic of You
As one of the classic comic book characters, Spider-Man has a long history of rescuing people who are in danger, but this event was a black mark on his record. During a planned stunt during a New Year's Eve celebration at Times Square in 2013, his rescue didn't exactly go as expected.
Good Morning America reporter Sara Haines pretended to faint when he appeared, with the expectation he would catch her. Spidey missed the grab, and Haines landed flat on her back. She wasn't hurt, and she even had a laugh about it, and afterward gave Spider-Man a big hug.
Photo Fail
According to people who work with him, KEYT 13's anchor John Palminteri is one of the nicer guys in the vicious world of broadcast news reporters. We have no reason to think that isn't true, but still, don't mess with his live segments, as one photobomber learned.
Palminteri was giving a report when a young Santa Barbara resident jumped into the shot, hoping to catch a quick pic with the reporter. Palminteri wasn't about to deal with that and immediately gave the young man a hard shove, sending him flying. Yikes! It's clear that Palminteri was NOT in the mood that day.
That Santa Is on the Bad List
To most of us, Santa is a nearly-omnipotent force for good. He gives out presents, he's jolly, and he makes the Winter a little more bearable. Some people have taken the character in another direction, though, such as David Zanaci, who is known as “Zanta” on the streets of Toronto.
This loud, obnoxious character decided to barge into the shot of Global BC reporter Mark Carcasole during a live report, yelling “Google Zanta! Google Zanta!” before security grabbed him and pulled him out of the shot. Carcasole kept his cool during the whole event, finishing the report by saying that he knows Zanta well.
Bye Bye Bystander
Reporting from the street is no easy feat. You're far away from the controlled and calm studio environment. Instead, you're at the mercy of the randomness of life and various people walking by. Reporters who take to the street have to deal with quite a lot of unexpected stuff, including the people who might be passing by.
KTLA reporter Wendy Burch hit the streets to report on Los Angeles's bid to host the Olympics when a passerby decided he too wanted to be on camera. What's particularly funny is that Burch didn't notice the man in frame for a while!
Temperatures That Rival the Sun
Technology might seem infallible, but just talk to anybody who works in IT and you'll find that is nowhere near the case. Take the weather display one day when Phoenix reporter Cory McCloskey stepped in front of the green screen to talk about the coming day.
Arizona can get pretty hot, but not up to four digits, as the screen read – one place was even getting near three thousand degrees! McCloskey noticed the obvious technical error and was able to continue with the segment. He ended it with a joking “get out while you still can,” which certainly made viewers sweat a little.
Bugging Out
There aren't that many people out there that like bugs, but there are plenty that hate them. All those legs, y'know? One such person is Fox59 meteorologist Jennifer Ketchmark, and unfortunately, she got up close and personal during one of her weather reports.
During the report, producers switched the shot behind her to a camera overlooking central Indianapolis to see the bright blue sky, but a huge bug instead became the leading story. The bug – a hornet – attacked the camera lens while Ketchmark screamed in terror and left the frame. Ketchmark even called that she'd probably end up on the blooper reel, but she was able to pull herself together and finish the segment.
Special Guest Stars
This on-air hiccup brings new meaning to "bring your daughter to work" day. WCBS meteorologist Lonnie Quinn thought he had everything figured out when he set up a green screen inside his home to work away from the office – but he hadn't considered his little ones paying him an "office" visit. Savy and Lily interrupted his live segment, and Savy remained with her father despite Quinn attempting to continue to forecast the weather.
Quinn was worried the segment would be a disaster, but it became a massive hit online since it had Quinn doting on his daughters while still doing his best to get his work done. The segment even made it onto the CBS show “This Morning,” where host Anthony Mason praised Quinn.
The Same Reaction as All of Us
News reporters working for local affiliates sometimes have to be the guinea pigs for bigger networks that want a local face to make an appearance. For example, Corey James was asked to do a segment on Disneyland's brand new roller coaster, a drop coaster that had a Guardians of the Galaxy theme. James did a short segment, ending with a televised ride on the coaster among other Marvel fans.
Unfortunately, James had quite the reaction during the ride. In fact, he nearly passed out! Truly one of the most entertaining moments on the news.
A Semantic Mishap
Europe doesn't really see any hurricanes, thanks to the way air currents work, but that doesn't mean they don't have some serious weather. Once, in 1987, a woman rang the BBC to say she thought a hurricane was on the way, but meteorologist Michael Fish was there to put the rumor to rest.
His face was red when, shortly thereafter, a cyclone hit the island nation, resulting in over a billion pounds of damage. Many said they would have been better prepared had the weather been accurate, and Fish would later issue an on-air apology. He definitely had to eat some humble (fish) pie!
It Was His First Day
Imagine if your job was to get in front of a camera and talk about some of the important stories of the day – you'd be pretty nervous. Turns out that rookie reporters have the same problem – just ask A.J. Clemente. His first day at KFYR, in Bismark, North Dakota, was also his last.
He had no idea the news was live: he started the broadcast by using a bunch of bad words as his co-anchor tried to read the story. When he realized they were live, he got ill. The only thing he was able to say was a mess of word soup that no one could understand. Whoops!
More Than Expected
If you aren't aware, there's a bit of a trend when it comes to weather girls in Mexico and surrounding countries. They like to show off, and more than one has gone on to become a model thanks to her looks in front of the green screen.
Sometimes, however, they reveal a bit too much. For example, Susana Almeida for 4 Televisa Guadalajara had a bit of an emergency when it came to her pants, and was revealing a little more than she at first assumed. A sharp-eyed fan recorded the segment and uploaded it, and the next day, Susana had changed into a less-revealing outfit.
Full House!
Once your child learns to walk, any control you thought you had goes out the window! Leslie Lopez, a meteorologist for KABC in Los Angeles, knows this all too well.
In early 2021, she was working in front of her home green screen when an unexpected visitor joined her – her ten-month son Nolan. Lopez scooped him up and continued with her segment, hardly missing a beat. She explained that he had just started walking, so she's lost all control. We have to say, we're all here for weather reporters donning onesies from now on!
Not What It Looks Like
Samantha Armytage is one of the most famous people in Australia thanks to her time on the news, but one surprising segment saw her midsection getting all the attention. Upon returning from an ad break, viewers of the show “Sunrise Breakfast” were surprised to see Armytage's co-anchor, David Koch, with his hand around Armytage's midsection.
Koch announced to the viewers that there was a wardrobe malfunction – moments earlier, Armytage's forceful sneeze had unbuckled her waist belt. The studio crew rushed to keep her presentable, and Koch's hand was the only thing stopping this memorable segment from being even more memorable.
The Secret to Her Longevity
Plenty of BBC viewers were surprised at the chyron (let's just say it's the name of a cocktail that's inspired by...fooling around... on the beach) that ran under this segment about the Queen, who was on her way to send her very first Tweet. It's important for the banners on news segments to be correct, due to the number of people who might not have sound available, or who came in late.
Plenty of viewers had no idea what to think when they saw this segment. Of course, it was just a simple mistake – the banner was supposed to run with a story about a local nudist beach, not with a picture of the queen. Hmm, maybe there's something we don't know about the ruler!
It's Still Mud
During a segment on receding water levels, a reporter decided he would step into the lake to demonstrate. Sure, the water levels may have receded, but that surface was still... wet. Reporter Jeff Smith, thinking the ground would be completely dry, sank in almost up to his knees.
If you've ever been in deep mud, you know that getting out is no easy task. His cameraman and the anchors back at the station had a laugh at his expense as he tried to free himself. Everything from his pants down was covered in mud, and he might have to find a new pair of shoes, too – the mud demands sacrifice!
In the Line of Fire
Dumping your favorite multi-colored sports drink on a victorious player or coach after a big win is a common practice in major sports. It's also common practice to see sideline reporters, looking to get a scoop by talking to those same figures.
You can see where this is going. Fox Sports reporter Kate Longworth was interviewing player A.J. Pollock of the Arizona Diamondbacks after a walk-off win when a few other players doused Pollock – as well as Longworth – with Gatorade. The team's Twitter account apologized for the shower, and while Longworth doesn't look too pleased, she returned to the stadium the very next day for more interviews, feeling anything but refreshed we're sure.
Not That Kind of Success
We all say the wrong things sometimes. Even people who are paid a lot of money to say specific words can sometimes flub a line. Susannah Collins, the reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks, once had a bad slip during the team's first playoff game.
While trying to say that the team had enjoyed a “tremendous amount of success” during the regular season, Collins said something else instead of success. Go on, you can figure it out. Say it out loud yourself. Collins apologized immediately, but the mistake went viral. Thankfully, the reporter had a sense of humor about it, laughing along with the rest of the world.
It Looked Much Bigger in Person
Bugs love to fly into our faces – there are so many interesting openings there! Of course, this means that reporters have to deal with them as well, such as when this Fox 5 anchor was doing a cushy assignment at the beach when a large flying insect started getting all up in his business.
When he had successfully fought the bug off, he sheepishly looked back to the camera and asked if they had been live that whole time. Meanwhile, the anchors at the station were laughing their heads off, commenting that it was either a giant bug or a small drone that had attacked their reporter.
Finally, an Honest Reporter
Milwaukee can be a pretty cold place, depending on the time of the year, and reporter Angelica Duria had finally had enough during one snowstorm. To put things mildly, she sort of lost it, dropping her reporter veneer and saying exactly what she thought about the weather.
While technically a blooper, everyone loved this reporter's frosty candor. She talked about how long she had been out in the cold (three hours), how much it's been snowing (a lot), and how much she liked being out there (very little). Her honesty was met with laughter and approval by both the viewing public and her producers.
This Is No Laughing Matter
While conducting a segment on a chilling crime, Stephen Grant's mugshot was plastered across the screen of Michigan's KFOX-TV station. Though the story itself wasn't funny in the slightest, anchorwoman Hema Mullur found the mugshot too funny to continue.
We admit that the face Grant is making is a goofy one, but it's still not the kind of thing one should be laughing at. Muller's co-anchors had to take over the story even as Mullur continued laughing – she was laughing so hard you could still hear her in the background, even as the more solid anchor had to go on to describe the grisly details of Grant's crime.
Out of Control Giggles
There is sometimes some funny stuff on the news, but usually not in this way. Australian anchor Natasha Exelby had a rather inappropriate fit of laughter during one night of reporting. It was all thanks to a sloppy transition from a story about an attractive Irish adventurer to a tragic tale about a collapsed building.
For some reason, the mood whiplash was too much for Exelby, who broke out into giggles. She was talking about people who had died, and she was still laughing. That's cold. Exelby simply could not control it, and the station had to cut to a commercial while she got herself under control.
Hard Feelings in the Newsroom
You'd think those female reporters would like to stick together, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Michelle Beadle and Erin Andrews.
Specifically, Beadle has no love for her peer and has even spoken about the relationship on the Dan Patrick Show, where she commented that if she walked into a room that contained Andrews, Beadle wouldn't even say hello. Beadle then went on to say that you don't have to like everyone all the time, and we can't help but admire her honesty. We don't know how Andrews feels about it, of course, but hopefully, she doesn't feel too bad. Yikes, talk about "Mean Girls."
Balls-Eye
Charissa Thompson got her start working the desk on ESPN back in the early 2000s and eventually earned her coveted spot as the co-host of "SportsNation" next to Marcellus Wiley.
While she's an acclaimed co-anchor, a paper-ball blooper almost took her down. Between takes of the show, someone hurled a ball of paper at the unsuspecting Thompson. The ball hit her squarely in the eye, and it seems to have hurt – but there was no lasting damage, and at least it was funny. Well, maybe not for Thompson.
It Just Wanted a Little Lovin
There are plenty of examples on this list about animals that have decided the news isn't all that important, but this might be the best one. San Diego reporter Ashley Jacobs was at the Safari Park, reporting on one thing or another, when a baby giraffe came up to say hi.
The giraffe was getting a little friendly, and while Jacobs kept trying to push it away, the giraffe was determined to nuzzle her. It also tried to eat her mic. Despite the issues, Jacobs was laughing, and there was plenty of giggling coming from the studio, as well.
Polly Wants Her Own News Segment
An unexpected guest on the news is nothing special since reporters often work where there are a lot of people. They usually aren't as ... colorful as this next example, however. Reporter Brittney Kleyn was preparing for her live broadcast at a local courthouse when a brightly-colored parrot landed on her shoulder.
Kleyn started screaming, surprised out of her routine, and said she thought she had been attacked. The cameraman, after getting over his fit of laughter, came to help and was able to rouse the parrot from Kleyn's shoulder. The parrot turned out to be a lost pet, and thanks to the video, the owner was able to locate it. We like to imagine that the bird's owner was a pirate and that the reunited pair sailed off into the sunset together.
The News We All Needed to Hear
Live reporters are accustomed to plenty of unwanted attention, and they've trained themselves to keep a straight face through all of it. Los Angeles reporter Christina Pascucci still wasn't expecting the kind of attention she got while reporting on the city's pride parade one year. The parade has plenty of celebration, but Pascucci was the target of one partygoer.
She just so happened to be talking about the low number of disturbances at the event when someone jumped into the shot and yelled “you're so [freaking] hot!” Pascucci was shocked, and the channel quickly cut back to the studio, but not before thousands in Los Angeles heard the foul language.
Yep...That's a Unicorn
WTLV had sent reporter David Williams to the Jacksonville area to cover a story about a fire in a resident's house when an unexpected photobomber appeared. No doubt this happened in Florida – a screaming woman in a tutu and a unicorn mask barely gets any news time from that state.
Williams was able to, somehow, keep his cool and finish the segment as if nothing had happened. The big question is did the woman get dressed up for the reporter, or was she already in uniform and just happened to see him? It's Florida, so either answer makes sense.
Please Excuse Our Mess
Despite being one of the most well-known news sources in the entire world, even BBC Nightly News has technical problems every once in a while. An eye-popping one occurred in 2017. When millions of viewers from around the world tuned in, they got one of the longest technical glitches in TV history.
For nearly three minutes – an eternity when it comes to Live TV – viewers were bombarded with random video clips broken up by the loud “breaking news” announcement. Every once in a while the feed would cut to Huw Edwards, the show's presenter, who was looking over his notes at his desk, fully unaware that anything was happening, or that he was on the air.
Power-ade Defense Tactics
As a veteran sports reporter, Emily Jones is always on the lookout for athletic jokers who want to douse her with Powerade. Really? The reporters? Okay, whatever. In 2017, Jones started packing a can of silly string to protect herself from these fools, but even that sometimes isn't enough.
While she was interviewing Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers in 2017, a pair of other Rangers ran toward them, carrying the Powerade bucket. Jones let loose with the silly string, but they didn't stop, dumping the ice-cold sports drink all over the reporter. Jones shook the excess drink off and went on with the interview like the veteran she is.
That's My Favorite B-Movie
There was nothing special going on one day in 2012 when Global British Columbia meteorologist Kristi Gordon was giving her regular weather report. The feed cut to a live shot of the Vancouver Harbor, but there was a surprise guest who had been hanging out on the camera.
A huge spider – huge to the camera, at least – hung right over Gordon's head. While not exactly arachnophobia, Gordon was none-too-pleased about her new co-reporter and was unable to stay in the shot for too long before running away from the huge spider. Her co-workers were quite pleased with the event, and with the weather woman's terrified reaction.
Noisy AND Annoying
KSNT news anchor Katya Leick was doing a segment from atop a tank at the Fort Reilly Army Base when something happened that made her rethink her choices in life – cicadas. While she was talking to viewers, a swarm of giant cicadas dropped in, buzzing around her.
Leick kept going, trying her best to ignore the bugs until one of them landed right on her face. Leick screamed, dropped the mic, and fled the scene. She attempted to record the segment several more times, but the bugs were too big a nuisance, and she eventually called it quits. We have to admit, “big huge bugs” are a pretty good reason to try something else.
Another Case Closed
Talk about sketchy! ABC 7 anchor Marc Brown was doing what he always did – reading the news to his loyal viewers. Everything was going smoothly. Until he got to a segment about a wanted criminal on the run.
He, as well as more than a small number of viewers, realized that the artist's depiction of the criminal had more than a passing resemblance to Brown himself. Luckily it turned out to be nothing more than a coincidence, much to the relief of viewers and Marc Brown. Phew!
A Boring News Cycle
We've all experienced long days at work, and with those come yawns. It might be no problem if you work with spreadsheets all day, but if you're an on-air personality, they become a little more problematic.
KSCH12 reporter Deedee Sun was out in the field reporting on a snowstorm, and she let out a huge yawn just as the feed cut to her. Meteorologist Ross Janssen joked about it, but the segment continued as expected from there. Sun even made fun of herself, posting the video on her personal Facebook feed. Reporters are up at all hours of the day, so a yawn is no shocker.