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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

...to think news reporters shouldn't be outside in this weather?

17 replies

Chil1234 · 02/12/2010 11:27

"I'm here in (insert town) in the driving snow, where the traffic is at a standstill, schools are closed, it's minus 20C and there's not a soul on the streets.... except me!

Can't understand why they have to send some poor red-nosed reporter & crew, muffled to the nines to do an outside broadcast just so that they can say 'it's very cold' live on amera with snow in the background. (Or 'it's windy' in a gale, or 'it's very wet' when it floods) We'd still believe them if they were in a nice warm dry studio, surely?

OP posts:

theevildead2 · 02/12/2010 11:30

They just like to look hard!

saorachd · 02/12/2010 11:31

None of them appear to own a hat.

purpleduck · 02/12/2010 11:32

they are only out for a bit. many countries have this weather for much of the year and its not possible for everyone to stay inside :)

Its sweet you're worried for them though :)

Sari · 02/12/2010 11:33

I get so angry when they don't wear hats. All I can think about during their report is the fact they are standing there talking about how unprepared the UK is for snow and failing to see the irony of having flakes of the stuff all over their bare head. They don't exactly look as though they have got to grips with the weather either. There was a guy on the BBC news last night who had about an inch of snow on his head and he just looked so stupid.

Longtalljosie · 02/12/2010 11:36

They're not allowed to wear a hat on camera unless there's a chance their head will actually freeze and shatter into a thousand pieces while they're on the air.

Between lives they're trying to warm up in the satellite van (which has a sliding door so every time someone goes in and out the warm escapes), and fantasising about tea.

While broadcasting they're trying not to scrunch their eyes up against the wind, and concentrating hard on their breath control so their voice sounds normal rather than shivery.

saorachd · 02/12/2010 11:36

We were fascinated by the STV weatherman who had half a head covered in what looked like shaving foam or Mr Whippy. Half his anorak was covered too. Did they tell him not to move or something?
I bet he is off with a chill today.

emptyshell · 02/12/2010 11:37

We were joking that the North East had a foot of snow and three foot of BBC journalists earlier in the week.

Doesn't worry me too much - grew up around enough journalists to know they do their piece to camera and haul backside straight back into the warm within 30 seconds!

LostArt · 02/12/2010 11:40

It's so we can see what snow looks like. Unless we see a reporter knee deep in a snow drift we wouldn't have a clue. It's like when they talk about rising obesity rates, we get to see footage of fat people walking and eating.

BeenBeta · 02/12/2010 11:41

Its the same when they are doing political reporting. I blame 24 hour roling TV news. It always have to have a picture no matter how banal.

"I'm here outside Downing St were the Prime Minister is meeting with the Cabinet..."

Well yes, but I always want to know when they are going to rush over and press their nose/camera up the Downing St windows to catch a glimpse of what is going on otherwise what is the point in being there?

Its hardly as gripping as .

CrystalQueen · 02/12/2010 11:43

I often wonder why reporters have to be outside. What difference does it make if Nick Robinson is live at Downing Street at 10 pm? It's not as if DC is about to come running out in his PJs. On Reporting Scotland the other day the reporter woman was standing in the middle of a snowdrift, having risked life and limb on the A9, when two streakers ran past.

Longtalljosie · 02/12/2010 11:46

Would you like it all to be in the studio, though, BeenBeta? Or in the case of Westminster, a studio live with that picture of Big Ben in the background? Wouldn't that look a bit dull?

It doesn't cost any more to do the lives at Downing St / College Green, they've got the permanent infrastructure there so they might as well.

Original poster

Chil1234 · 02/12/2010 11:55

Some sweeping helicopter footage or photos sent in by viewers might add a little visual colour to the story. But that bloke in Altnaharra last night, all alone on abandonded streets, shivering his nuts off and holding a thermometer so that we could see it was -17C really didn't have to be there. (We believe you that it's very cold, honest) The locals, wisely indoors, must have thought he'd gone soft in the head.

OP posts:

Bramshott · 02/12/2010 12:01

LostArt!

fayc84 · 02/12/2010 12:01

haha, I agree. It's far too cold to be outside. I'm a newspaper reporter and snowed in 30miles from my patch so just phoning people to find out that there's loads of snow there too. So far today I've written three snow-related articles and no need to venture outside (apart from one brief wade through knee-deep snow to rescue my cat who couldn't work out how to return to the back door after venturing outside this morning).

The lassie on the BBC this morning talking about trains being cancelled had a really nice purple hat on ...

motherinferior · 02/12/2010 12:05

I did a Sky piece once in a most unfetching woolly hat but I was WARM.

poppyknot · 02/12/2010 12:09

Saw the streakers too CrystalQueen. (Not IRL!)

At the beginning of the week our local big roundabout was the star of the show. Wonder if it was just because they happened to have staff on site already or something.........

GlitteryBalls · 02/12/2010 12:22

Re: the hat thing, some people just don't suit hats. I wouldn't wear a hat on TV, no matter how much you paid me!

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