Even in the middle of summer, a time for carefree picnics and beach parties, the restless, insatiable 24-hour news cycle continues. The beast is always hungry, so there are always news anchors, weather forecasters, sportscasters, and field reporters on hand to feed it. These brave men and women fill up hours and hours of television time each month with informational programming, most of it live. Naturally, things go wrong now and then. Cues are missed. Lines are flubbed. Microphones are mishandled. News people are only human, and there’s no telling what fate has in store for them at any given moment.
Since March 2012, the YouTube channel News Be Funny has been establishing itself as one of the best, most complete sources for news bloopers, both national and local, domestic and foreign. The channel’s monthly supercuts have become one of the internet’s most consistent delights, and the July 2016 video is no exception. From a passerby in an ill-fitting Pikachu costume to a disastrous twerking demonstration, news shows provided some of the best entertainment last month had to offer.
It wasn’t a great month for NBC’s already disgraced Brian Williams, for instance. During one broadcast, Williams misidentified President Obama as Ronald Reagan. On another, he repeatedly attempted to make contact with Andrea Mitchell at a campaign rally, only to be greeted with the sweet sounds of Hall And Oates each time. In terms of field reporters, the one most deserving of a medal of valor this month is Reena Roy of News 12 in The Bronx. Sent out of the safety of the studio to do a story about how Bronxites were beating the heat, Roy found herself under assault from a bevy of children toting water pistols. Her blooper is like an absurd parody of City Of God drastically rewritten for Nickelodeon. And then there was the saga of the man who robbed a bank in DeKalb, Illinois, while wearing a werewolf mask. This was more than the anchors of ABC 7 News in Chicago could stand. Their composure, once lost, could not be regained. Such are the pains and pleasures of the local news game.
[via Mashable]