TV reporting...dangerous

On The New Republic's blog, The Plank, today, Michael Crowley hits us with this posting:

'A Fox News correspondent just reported from the scene of the latest California wildfire about one unlucky local resident: "He lost everything but his dog, and his wife."'

Don't get me wrong, that elicited a guffaw. Maybe even a chuckle. But then I gots to thinking that reporting at a scene of a wildfire or a hurricane or a tsunami or an earthquake (or all of these at once, like Anderson Cooper does) is pretty tough business. Not only are you probably liquefying your pantaloons because of the personal danger you've put yourself in to make sure Betty from Duluth knows what's happening in the world, but you're also doing this while having to look rugged and heroic and while wearing a safari vest with many, many pockets. So, push comes to shove, I'd probably say some dumb ish, if ya know what I'm talkin' bout.

But if I were in a studio and somebody had freshly caked my face and coiffed my hair and all I had to do was read an electronic monitor with big, bright words on it, maybe I'm overestimating my abilities here, but I think I could handle it. At least better than this gal, or this one. And I just feel sorry for this dude. But definitely not this one.

Really, I could watch TV anchor gaffes all day.