Do as I Say, Not as I Do...
/
FTVLive sat in the middle of Hurricane Andrew as he ripped apart South Florida. We have coverage a number of other storms as well and now we sit in the dark as Hurricane Irma passes through our area.
After 20+ years in TV news and years of doing FTVLive, my opinion on Reporters standing out in the Hurricane, shouting and yelling as they are getting knocked around remains the same.
It is now so overdone, it is like a worn out recording of a favorite song. At one point in time, it helped tell the story. But now with cameras everywhere and technology able to send live signals back through almost any weather, it's time to just put it to rest.
The New York Times did a story about Reporters standing in the storm and they quoted FTVLive in the Times story.
They also said, "The tradition of television crews standing in the middle of a dangerous storm goes back decades, reflecting the hunger to be on the scene for a nationally significant event. But the news value of dangerous stand-ups — in which a correspondent is seen in the field talking to the camera — is increasingly being questioned, particularly with the rise of social media. Some critics wondered whether they are unnecessary and overly sensational spectacles, especially in cases where correspondents are struggling to deliver information."
