Driving While Live

We hear about not drinking and driving, or texting and driving, what about Reporting while driving?

Years ago, you needed to stop the news vehicle, park, set up the mast and dial in the live shot. Now technology let's you go live while still the car is moving and of course stations and networks think that's really cool so they do it.

A prime example was MSNBC and Reporter Rehema Ellis who was driving on the Mass Turnpike in awful conditions.

She starts out her live shot by saying, "Andrea, it's a mess out here....We've got, maybe, a quarter of a mile of visibility." She then spends time looking at the camera and often takes her hands off the wheel.

It's cool technology, until someone crashes on live TV.

Let's go to the video:

Shep Takes a Swipe at CNN's Blizzard Mobile

There was nothing more stupid in all the storm hype coverage than CNN's "Blizzard Mobile."

Last night, Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith was on Fox Business's Kennedy talking about how to cover breaking news and he took a well deserve swipe at CNN and Don Lemon (who was in the BM) for their Blizzard Mobile.

Here's the video:

Shepard Smith with Kennedy

H/T Johnny Dollar

Squeezing Lemon

Speaking of Don Lemon and CNN's Blizzard Mobile, here are some of tweets from the night Don Lemon drove around NY in the BM :

"It Taste like Throw Up"

The WXMI (Grand Rapids) morning news crew got to taste Vegemite while live on air. 

"Vegemite is a national condiment or I suppose you could call it a spread," meteorologist Jon Shaner explains to his colleagues. "People compare it to peanut butter, but it doesn't really taste anything like peanut butter."

Watch as the Anchors taste it for the first time and give their thoughts: 

January 26 is Australia Day, marking the arrival of the British on the southern continent in 1788. In honor of the occasion, the FOX 17 Morning News team decided to celebrate with one of the most Aussie things they could think of - Vegemite toast.

Hump Day Helper

Here is your Hump Day Hurdle Helper from our friends over at Devlin Design Group.

Be Careful at Noon Today

If you're in the New York area, you might not want to be outside around noon time. According to WNBC, it's going to be "Cunny" at noon.

Not sure what kind of weather "Cunny" is, but I would just stay inside until 4PM, when it will be cool.

Wow...that is just a letter away from being really bad.

Just saying.....

It's Going to be a HOT one in Arizona Today

While it might be "Cunny" in New York Today, out in Arizona it is going to get down right hot.

How hot?

Temps will be above 2000 degrees in some areas according to KSAZ Weatherman Cory McCloskey.

Wickenburg will be 2385 degrees, so you might want to head south to Florence where it will be a much cooler 1625 degrees.

Bumped Up in B-More

WBAL has named Tim Tunison  as the station's new News Director.

Tunison had been the Deuce at the Baltimore station since 2005 and now moves up to the main chair. 

"Tim has done outstanding work for our station in various roles," says WBAL GM Dan Joerres. "His appreciation for localism, coupled with a commitment to investigative journalism, will enable us to continue to build upon WBAL-TV's position... in our viewing area"

He replaces Michelle Butt, who, as FTVLive told you is headed to WXII for her first GM job.

The Day is Not off to a Good Start at WCBS

Look For it At your Local Bookstore

Did Memphis Reporter Step Over the Line with Live Interview?

A suspected drug dealer on the run from police pushed his way into a daycare center.

If you watched Fox Memphis Reporter Trey Paul, he tried to blame the daycare center and the person that runs it for this idiot getting inside.

He's questioning which was repeated over and over again seemed to cross over the line.

Props to the daycare center director Terry Oliver, who handled the badgering with total class. 

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the Reporter.

Watch the video and decide for yourself:

CHEERS! Meteorologist Owns Up to a Missed Forecast

While many Weather folks and others are passing the buck as to how they forecast a massive blizzard that didn't happen, at least one meteorologist admits to missing the mark on the storm.

Gary Szatkowski, chief of the National Weather Service office that serves Mount Holly, N.J., and Philadelphia, offered a heartfelt public apology on Twitter for a bad forecast:

Szatkowski has been with the NWS for over 35 years and he could have made excuses like all the others, instead he took ownership for a missed forecast and said he was sorry.

This guy is the man!

Gary, we're not all perfect and you admitting that makes you a better met than all the others hiding behind excuses.

​Good for you man! Good for you. 

The Best Blizzard Forecast Bar None

Our favorite Internet Weatherman Frankie McDonald was excited about the blizzard and he gave the best forecast bar none.

At least he toned it down compared to the networks and local Weather folks.

Watch Frankie give the best blizzard forecast of them all:

Massive Blizzard is on its way for Massachusetts on Tuesday January 27, 2015 and it will bring 50+ cm of snow and it will bring Blowing and Drifting Snow Especially in Boston Massachusetts and the Massive Blizzard will hit Brockton and Springfield Massachusetts and it will be zero Visibility and

Media General Station Hires Cardboard Cutout

Media General owned WSPA (Spartanburg, S.C) has a new hire in the newsroom and she's made out of cardboard.

The station has hired "Michelle" and according to News Director Karen Kelly, Michelle will be in all the news editorial meetings.

Michelle has two kids (although they don't seem to have names) and she's made out of cardboard.  Kelly wants everyone in the newsroom to gear their stories to Michelle. 

Michelle will be in the newsroom each and everyday (damn! No days off?) and will even be traveling to the bureaus (hope it's not windy on those days).

Here is the internal memo that Kelly sent to the staff about the station's new hire:

Subject: MEET Michelle

Michelle is who you want watching your newscasts, your stories.

She will be in every editorial meeting with us and in the newsroom during the day. She will likely make occasional trips to Greenville and Anderson.  

When you pitch, pitch to her. When you write, write to her.

This is who we need watching in February.

Women 25-54 is her demo.

She has children and she cares about:
Their Safety
Saving Money
Recalls that have impact on her family

Even if you think a story doesn't directly impact Michelle find a way to write it to her.

Give her additional information that is relevant to her.

Post stories and send alerts on stories she cares about.

Not sure how many cardboard cutouts have a people meter, but it seems that WSPA wants to gear their newscast to the cardboard cutout.

Just when you thought this business could not anymore crazy, now cardboard people are running news editorial meetings.

Walter Cronkite just flipped over one more time. 

Ummmmm... That's Not How you Hold the Camera

For some reason, CNN had their Media Critic Brian Stelter out covering the historic snowstorm that wasn't historic at all in New York City. 

Of course, we could go on and on with why the guy that is supposed to critique the media is actually trying to do news reporting (he was already making excuses for the CNN's blown forecast this morning). Insiders at CNN tell FTVLive that "it's an embarrassment" having Stelter who has worked in TV for just over a year on the street reporting at the network.

There was one other problem as well, Stelter held his camera upside down for a good portion of his live shot. 

If only there was someone at CNN that could critique his reporting and lack of holding the camera right side up.

Tune into Reliable Sources this Sunday when Brian reports on what a great job he did as a news Reporter.

Let's go to the video: 

Uploaded by Craig Blanton on 2015-01-27.

Historic Storm was Historic Bust in NYC

The media talk was about New York City getting as much as 3 feet of snow.

The TV Weather people said that this could be the biggest storm in New York City's history.

Records were going to be broken they claimed.

So how much snow did NYC get?

3 feet?
No

2 feet?
Nope

A foot?
Wrong again

The historic storm brought New York City 7 inches of snow, or as the folks in Buffalo call it, "a light dusting."

Once again, Mother Nature did not live up to the hype and you can expect the Media folks to start making excuses very soon.

Never mind.... they have already started. Funny how the media CRITIC is already starting the excuse train for the media. 

The bottom line,  if the media was right, they would have been crowing over and over about how they nailed the "Storm of the Millennium" or whatever they decided to call it. But, they were wrong again and the Chicken Little style of reporting will obviously have viewers looking at the next "Historic Storm" which a side eye.

The Weather folks swung and missed and they should admit as much and leave the excuses to the CNN Media Critic. 

Just saying.....