UPDATED: WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Matt Austin suffered a severe concussion and required 10 staples in the head last month after his car was totaled by a texting driver.
On the 11 p.m. Monday news, Austin issued a call to action about texting, reported that the driver didn’t receive a ticket and highlighted that penalties in Florida are light. Because the officer didn’t see the other driver texting, that information wasn’t in the accident report, Austin said.
The anchor said it was his mission to drive change about an “impotent texting law.”
It was a very unusual moment for Orlando television.
“I don’t remember another station or anchor doing anything comparable,” WKMG news director Allison McGinley said Tuesday. “Matt and News 6 are committed to making this happen in Florida. We know it will be a long battle, but we believe our community is ready to stand with us to get results. Already the reaction has been substantial. We’ve received dozens of emails, Facebook posts and comments sent to ClickOrlando filled with people angry about our laws and having their own dangerous experiences.”
WKMG General Manager Jeff Hoffman said he had no reluctance whatsoever about doing the segment. “After we found out Matt was OK, we asked for the police report,” he said. “When we saw that the driver who admitted hitting him wasn’t even cited, it opened our eyes to a risk all Floridians face.”
Austin described himself as “terrified” before delivering the segment. “I haven’t been nervous on air in years,” he said. “But last night my stomach was in knots. I’ve been anchoring for 12 years now and have never expressed my opinion on anything of significance. It’s something I pride myself on.”
But sometimes things are just wrong, he added. “I really didn’t want the story to be about me,” he said. “I wanted to focus on the weak laws here in Florida. The response has been overwhelming so far. I woke up to a flood of Facebook messages and emails. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one getting choked up last night.”
McGinley said she was not one to allow anchors to interject their opinion into a newscast.
“It’s critical that we as broadcasters share stories with details and facts which allow our viewers to make an informed decision,” she said. “In this case, Matt’s story was filled with details and facts, but went a bit farther in order to make a strong call to action based on what we expect to find is universal opinion. We believe there are few who think texting and driving is safe or that our laws are at their best.”
She said Austin will be back with a follow-up story within two weeks and plans to do regular stories as the station works to change the laws with the community’s help.
“We’ve done stories in the past about our antiquated texting and driving laws, but this was such a personal experience for our entire newsroom, we felt we needed to do something to drive change and Get Results,” McGinley said, echoing the station’s Getting Results slogan.
Austin had been sitting at a red light when he was hit. He has said he was grateful that his baby daughter wasn’t in the car seat that “slammed violently into the back of my head.”
In his call to action, he noted that his three daughters are usually sitting in the back seat and urged viewers to “help because of the little ones in your back seat.”
