By now you have probably seen the video of Tori Yorgey, a TV reporter for NBC affiliate WSAZ, getting hit by a car while she was reporting live on a water break in Dunbar, W.Va. The scene lasts only a few minutes, where we can see the reporter and her camera mounted on a tripod get run over by a pickup truck. Yorgey immediately exclaims “I’m okay” and continues her stand up as she catches her breath. This event has sparked a lot of debate within the journalism community, with many journalists being outraged the reporter was sent alone to do a live shot at nighttime, arguing that her news station totally disregarded her safety. Progressively, more than the safety of journalists while on the job, professionals started questioning the position of MMJs, or multimedia journalists, who are expected to be a “one-person team.”
News Directors Must Own The MMJ Safety Problem
Hank Price: Multimedia journalism was born out of financial considerations, and now that MMJs are widespread, TV news owners and management have an obligation to better ensure their safety. It’s time for news directors to step up at the station level.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin on Monday, Feb. 7. The media, were mentioned as a potential target. In a nutshell, the bulletin said several factors have “increased the volatility, unpredictability, and complexity of the threat environment.”
MMJs Sound Off On Safety In Town Hall
A virtual town hall discussion on Saturday hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists found a wide swath of multimedia journalists calling for more safety training and open lines of communication with newsroom leaders over well-being concerns following an MMJ being hit on-air by a car.
Exclusives
Tori Yorgey was reporting live for WSAZ Charleston, W.Va., when she was struck by a car Wednesday night as she covered a water main break and weather that brought snow, ice and slick roads. She hit the ground with a thud and popped back up to finish her live shot. While many on social media applauded Yorgey’s ability to keep calm and carry on with her broadcast, the incident highlights the risks that reporters can face while doing their jobs — and raises questions about how newsrooms and television stations can ensure the safety of their staffers.
I Get Abuse And Threats Online. Why Can’t It Be Stopped?
Online abuse against women is on the rise, but why aren’t the police, the government and social media companies doing more to stop it?
Delta Be Damned, RTDNA Presses On With Live Conference
RTDNA will be the canary in the coal mine for journalism conferences in September, when it convenes in Denver without the Society of Professional Journalists, its longtime partner. Executive Director Dan Shelley discusses plans for navigating the live event amid the Delta surge and the most pressing dangers and prerogatives facing journalists as unsteady times continue and attacks on reporters persist.
Taliban fighters searching for a Deutsche Welle journalist in Afghanistan shot dead a member of his family and seriously injured another, Germany’s international public broadcaster reported. “It is evident that the Taliban are already carrying out organized searches for journalists, both in Kabul and in the provinces. We are running out of time!” said Deutsche Welle Director General Peter Limbourg on Thursday.
Safety is always a concern for journalists in unstable countries. The added element in Afghanistan now, as it was previously in Iraq, is the safety of people — not just journalists but drivers, translators and others — who helped news organizations at different points in the 20 years the United States has fought in the country.
The paper’s publisher emailed U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan this morning on behalf of the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Reporter Safety A Story That Won’t Go Away
Since attacks on journalists dramatically escalated last year, station groups have tightened safety protocols and veteran reporters are going into potentially volatile environments with escape routes at the ready. Even after 2020’s violent crescendo, journalists must be constantly vigilant against threats that “can happen spontaneously,” says Ruschell Boone, a reporter with NY1.
The dangers of covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been ever apparent in multiple TV live shots during the past week, as network correspondents describe the tense situation against a backdrop of incoming missiles and falling shrapnel. Above, a bomb hits the building housing international media including the Associated Press on May 15.
Your goal should be to get close enough to observe the scene without endangering yourself or others, or interfering with security or rescue operations.
