Another storm has passed over us and with it a deluge of news reports with soaked journalists barely able to speak into their microphones or keep on their feet during broadcasts because of the severity of the weather.
Storm Éowyn roared in last week with a red weather warning. This generally means ‘dangerous weather’ that brings a ‘risk to life’ and that people should ‘avoid travelling’.
The whole of the UK got a rather dramatic alert sent to their phone on Thursday warning of ‘flying debris, falling trees and large waves around coastal areas’. It stated ‘it is not safe to drive in these conditions’.
But many of our media workers did go out into danger. They were expected to, they are always expected to, will always be expected to run towards the danger. I have done it myself many times, with no safety training or advice beyond ‘be careful’.
Perhaps it’s because I am out of the newsroom environment now, but I wonder how exactly one can be careful in 100mph winds that are ripping off roofs and felling trees the land over.
Perhaps the words themselves are magical, somehow protective. I don’t know. But I can bet they were used last week in newsrooms all over the UK before crews stepped out into the wilds of what Mother Nature brought down upon us.
You see, the problem is, it’s relatively easy to predict behaviour in hostile environments; to work to mitigate danger where humans are involved. You can use experienced crews familiar with the territory and cultures, you can tap into the feelings on the ground, react immediately to human behaviour.
Weather events are different. They are totally unpredictable danger. There’s no talking to Mother Nature, no measuring if it’s safe to navigate a scene.
Hard cover means nothing in fast, changeable winds when debris is flying everywhere, when rivers suddenly break their banks or a rogue wave hits and pulls you out to sea.
There’s no alarm before a tree or a large sign falls. Mother Nature just doesn’t care if you’re trying to get a good shot for the 10pm news.
And the media across the UK were out gathering pictures and footage in Storm Éowyn, putting themselves in harm’s way and getting involved in some weird competition to see who could secure the most dramatically drenched report.
One morning news show was blasted as their weather reporter – who was broadcasting from a Scottish coastal town – was barely able to keep on his feet after being battered by what experts had called ‘potentially life-threatening’ wind. Viewers slammed the reports as ‘unbelievably dangerous’.
A reporter from another station was pushed down a Portrush street by winds during the worst of the storm, another stood in the middle of the street battling against gale force winds to tell us his hotel window had been sucked out by the wind and that roof tiles had also been ripped off the hotel, all while his camera shook and struggled to stay upright for his report.
Journalists and crews were sent to coastal towns across the UK while the rest of us were told not to go anywhere near them in case we were injured.
As a now consumer of news, I do not want to see news crews standing on beaches/piers/the street fighting against the wind/the most dramatic and dangerous locations for their lives and reports. I do not want to see journalists risking life and limb to bring me their reports. It makes me uneasy.
It is something our newsrooms have adopted from US 24-hour news, where drama reigns supreme and it’s often a competition to see who can get the most drenched and windswept. We don’t need it here.
Having our news crews travel extensively when everyone is told to hunker down is not sensible. Having them stand in the street, on the coast or somewhere totally exposed to the elements is reckless.
Leverage drones, use fixed cameras. I don’t understand why, in this modern era, we can’t place remote, weatherproof cameras – secured safely in vulnerable locations – to capture strong live footage.
Storm Eowyn has hit with strong 90mph winds across the UK.
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) January 24, 2025
A rare red warning is in place this morning across Northern Ireland, warning of danger to life. pic.twitter.com/onYgq1mbof
Why can’t drones be used to capture still images for print? Is it too dangerous to put drones up, or might the cameras be broken in the wind? Why can’t we prioritise crew safety over everything?
Yes, audiences value live reporting. Why can the live reporting not be split-screen with the reporter in a safe, covered spot and a secured camera in another?
Let me tell you, after spending the last two weeks in hospital with my very sick Mum, witnessing the stark fragility of life everywhere my gaze landed, I can assure you: no pictures, no footage, no story is worth risking lives for.