THIS MAN IS AN IDIOT


I often discuss the issue of safety for foreign correspondents but TV Week has an interesting report on how local newshounds in California responded to the recent wildfires.

The reporter pictured above -- KNBC newsman Chuck Henry -- put his and his cameraman's life at risk by broadcasting live while the flames were licking around his heels. When his news truck failed to start -- and then burst into flames -- he relied on a fireman to get him out alive.

Henry's egocentric and ratings-obsessed desire to put himself at the centre of the story defies basic news safety principles. Reporting live while the flames are warming your chestnuts isn't brave or innovative journalism -- it's just plain stupid.

He should have fried.