User Reviews

A clip compilation documentary looking at various fails involving news channels around the world. What could go wrong, might you ask? I love similar compilations on Youtube and was looking forward to more of the same. Except this isn't the same. Expect around 20 clips spread out into a two hour documentary with an hour of adverts for the TV transmission. Expect to have the same clips repeated over and over again, followed by random commentators describing WHAT JUST HAPPENED. Even worse, more than one commentator makes the same comment, just in different words. A woman falls out of a canoe: "she falls into the water", "faceplant into the water", "she's gone", ad infinitum. At least the newspeople taking part have more of a reason to be there, but the so-called young comedians and the like have no contribution to make whatsoever. This turns an appealing subject into a spoon-fed mess, and you'd be much better off watching a Youtube compilation without all of the padding in between.

When News Goes Horribly Wrong

When I read about this documentary programme advertised, I recognised a couple of the things mentioned that would be included, and I had my guesses of what else may be included, so I was really looking forward to watching. Basically the show was a three hour collection of clips, focusing on the mostly negative moments on televised news programmes, including during live studio broadcasts, during live and recorded reports, during in-studio interviews, during discussions, during national events, during weather reports, during sporting events and much more. These moments included live mistakes and mishaps, embarrassing incidents, news presenters, reports and others going wrong, accidents and shocks, incidents causing controversy and much more, in Britain and/or around the world.

Reports going wrong included: a news reporter saying "it's full steams ahead" in a train, and the train reverses; a news reader spilling his coffee; Jeremy Paxman coughing; a lightbulb exploding above Jan Leeming; Georgina Burnett unable to present the weather with a loud church bell ringing; Ulrika Jonsson giggling during the weather; and Huw Edwards sitting silent on BBC News at Ten for four minutes after a technical glitch. Live news interviews going wrong included: Professor Robert Kelly in a live BBC News interview discussing South Korea from his home, he is interrupted by his two children, the toddler daughter and the baby on the walker, his wife dashes in to get them out, and crouches down on the floor, as if she cannot be seen, to close the door, this clip went viral; TV-am with David Frost interviewing Anthony Dawkin live from Warsaw, but Dawkin's earpiece is not working and he can hardly hear anything, Frost tries cupping his hands and shouting a question, with no success; and Sky News at 10 Press Preview, with Anna Botting anchoring, sees Andrew Pierce and Kevin Maguire discussing George Osborne allegedly taking cocaine as a student with overweight dominatrix Natalie Rowe (from Big Brother fame), they get into fits of laughter after one says "I thought cocaine was meant to make you slim". Other news reports going wrong included: Sky News with Dermot Murnaghan interviewing Estonian President Toomis Hendrick live from Munich, the President pulls out his earpiece, insulted that Murnaghan did not say his full name, ironically, he is not president anymore; Alistair Stewart on ITV News is reporting on children's food allergies, he is upstaged when interviewing mother Lucy Wronka by her children, specifically her toddler Iris who is wandering around the studio and jumping on the desk; Susanna Reid presenting Good Morning Britain, with Ben Shepard, is interviewing actor Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey) about his Hollywood movie The Guest, and she makes an unintentional innuendo, saying "you must've had to beat off a lot of American men to get this part"; and Amber Sherlock on Nine News Now in a three-way discussion, with sports reporter Julie Snook and psychologist Sandy Rae, they were not on live news, but the camera captured them arguing about wearing the same white colour, when they did go live, they were smiley and professional, Julie in a dark jacket ended up standing out, and when the footage went viral Amber was seen as a diva. Other news items going wrong included: the memorial service of Nelson Mandela at the Johannesburg soccer stadium being upstaged by fake sign language interpreter Thamsanqa Jantjie, making up numerous translation hand gestures, the deaf community were appalled, it was scary that this hoaxer was an arm's length away from President Obama and other world leaders, the man claims he was schizophrenic; and Dutch channel NOS was invaded by intruder Tariq Z, he had a gun and demanded a guard take him to a studio to broadcast live on air to make a speech, the situation in an empty studio was recorded by cameras for five minutes, before armed police stormed in and arrested the man, the gun was found out to be fake. Live news going wrong included: the ABC News presidential debate fouled up when candidates Dr. Ben Carson, Donald Trump and John Kasich messed up their cues to go onstage, pausing backstage and not arriving on time; and Channel 4 News with Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviewing Richard Ayoade, Richard was being awkward but funny, it turned out to be a surreal deconstruction of a celebrity interview, it was supposed to be a joke. More news going wrong included: Phil Bouchard was supposed to be on breakfast Channel News, he overslept and arrived late, he did not have time to comb his hair or put on makeup, he was half asleep, out of breath, swallowing and clearing his throat, and he had not had time to look at the script; HTV news with Matt Arnold reporting from Northampton Sixfields Stadium was interviewing Jamie Cureton about an upcoming match, while the sprinklers are watering the football pitch, the sprinkler covers them in water, but they carry on regardless; and Karl Hiedel was reporting for Anglia, with his cameraman Gary filming, about the flooding of the River Great Ouse, in a filmed outtake, commination between them is bad because of the rain, Gary is foulmouthed and fed up. Further news going wrong included: GMTV broadcasting live from Westerdale Moor in Yorkshire with Richard Mackney were witnessing an attempt to break an amateur rocket launch altitude record, the launch countdown went wrong, it was an anti-climax when the rocket broke apart without taking off, it was also a rubbish explosion of bits; and WGN Morning News wanted to capture the implosion of a Chicago bridge, the destruction was happening any moment, the live footage has talking to fill time, it cuts away to a weather presenter, then when it cut back, they missed the big moment, the bridge has already been blown up and fallen into the water. More news reports going wrong included: Journalist Alex Dunlop (usually a war correspondent) trying to film a pre-recorded segment at a zoo, with lemurs all over him, he cannot do it swiftly as they are biting and crawling all over him, he tries numerous takes; Channel One got an interview with Kylie Minogue about the release of her self-titled album (her fifth), Kylie gets annoyed when the journalist asks about rumours that she and her sister Dannii are having a rivalry; a French reporter being manhandled by the French handball team celebrating their Gold medal victory at the London 2012 Olympics, he tries to carry on, despite them ripping his top off; and a reporter from Israel's Channel One being sent to be part of a demonstration test for a stab-proof vest, the reporter stabs the man wearing the vest, he accidentally stabbed a part of his back. News from other countries going wrong included: in Brazil, a journalist talking to a politician and doctor, the man tries to walk away, the journalist keeps pestering with questions, the man punched the reporter and tried to fight him, the reporter sued him and won; in the Czech Republic, a female reporter was doing a piece to camera, unaware that in the background, a homeless man is going through the bins, he reached into the large container and fell in, the reporter is still oblivious, and the man did not reappear; Nine News reported s a disaster where two cranes have collapsed into the River Rhine, but reporter Peter Hitchener can hardly talk when he suddenly gets a coughing fit, a female reporter had to take over, but Peter was still heard coughing in the background; a weather report on Swedish regional news magazine Västerbottensnytt was spoiled by a capercaillie bird attacking the journalist and the cameraman; and in Serbia, government minister Aleksandar Antic was in the snow discussing the power cut of a town, he was talking camera when a large piece of ice hits his hardhat, he was startled, but not harmed, but the hat had a large crack. The last live news reports going wrong included: Sky News Sunrise with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus and producer Greg Nicotero discussing the show, but they were pulled offset in their swivel chairs by a floor manager, as they were in the way of the weather report screen; on TV4 in Sweden, Tone Bekkestad was presenting the weather, a large camera is in shot and in the way of the graphic, the camera was moved further forward in the way, it cut from the studio to the graphic, then when it returned the camera was gone; Ivonete de Oliveira was reporting on a flood in Rio de Janeiro, but she was unable to get in a boat with her microphone, she fell forward into the flood water, then there was no sound; and flooding in France was being reported by Fanny Agostini, big waves from the sea were sweeping the street, a large wave crashed and knocked the reporter and her crew over, but she was not harmed.

I had my guesses what news moments would be included, the bad ones, the funny ones and the awkward ones, I always enjoy the nostalgia seeing these moments again, but it was good to learn about those I did not know, and the serious stuff as well, overall it was an interesting and watchable documentary.

Narrated by Moira Stewart, with contributions from Claudia-Liza Armah (Channel 5 News), Matt Arnold, Good Morning Britain's Alex Beresford, Phil Bouchard, Hal Cruttenden, Rob Curling, Edwina Currie, Iain Dale, Anne Diamond, Julian Druker (Channel 5 News), Alex Dunlop, Vanessa Feltz, Nick Ferrari, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Christine Hamilton, Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins, Karl Heidel, comedian Rhys James, Professor Robert Kelly, weatherman John Kettley, comedian Athena Kugblenu, Jan Leeming, Adrian Mills, Dermot Murnaghan, Warren Nettleford (Channel 5 News), Lembit Opik, Nick Owen, Andrew Pierce, Gail Porter, Harriet Rose (DJ), GMTV's Penny Smith, Judi Spiers, John Stapleton, James Stewart (DJ), Janet Street-Porter, weather reporter Laura Tobin, Denis Touhy, Lowri Turner, India Willoughby and Lynne Faulds Wood. Very good!