Reporter Called Out for 'Fake News' After Florence Live Report Goes Very Wrong
It’s kind of sad when even The Weather Channel gets called out for fake news.
As I write this, Florence is pounding the Carolinas. We hope our readers and everyone down there are safe and stay safe. Obviously, going out in the storm is probably inadvisable.
However, weathermen like going out in the storm and showing how dangerous it is, making a show of how much of a struggle they’re putting up against the wind and the rain whenever there’s a hurricane.
Sometimes, they like doing it a little too much, which brings us to the odd case of The Weather Channel’s Mike Seidel.
According to BizPac Review, Seidel — a Weather Channel veteran — was reporting on Florence from North Carolina on Friday.
“This is about as nasty as it’s been,” Seidel, clad in the standard-issue windbreaker, struggled mightily against the storm. So, how nasty was it? Check the background for an answer.
So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/8FRyM4NLbL
— Tony scar. (@gourdnibler) September 14, 2018
That’s right, as he struggles to stay upright, two guys are just striding along in the background.
Now, there are two possibilities here. The first is that Seidel is exponentially weaker than two random guys who were just walking along in the background (in shorts, no less). The other is that he was faking the battle to stay upright to make for dramatic TV.
I’m going to go with the latter one, for whatever reason.
Even Ari Fleischer and Bret Baier noted that it didn’t look so good for Seidel:
Wind and water-gate. https://t.co/DmBVMs7uDe
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 14, 2018
oh dear… https://t.co/BJgacrVQSa
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) September 14, 2018
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, The Weather Channel somehow managed to make things sound worse.
“It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted,” they said.
The Weather Channel tries to take us everywhere during their coverage of hurricanes, storms which they seem to secretly love thanks to footage like this (when it happens without people strolling by casually in the background, of course). What I would have loved to see more than anything, however, is the office where some P.R. official had to craft that statement.
Wet grass? Undoubtedly exhausted? As their fingers hit the keys, did they not realize they were engaging in one of the most misguided rationalizations for an embarrassment in recent media memory?
I suppose they had to do it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t boggle at just how fake it all is.
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