Hurricane Irma Starts Another Storm: Debate Over TV Storm Reporting

As hurricane Irma hit the major Florida cities, it was covered live by Bill Weir, Coverages in such potentially unsafe conditions raised a debate on social media. On Sunday, September 10, morning Bill Weir in a live coverage from Florida, was seen talking to anchor Chris Cuomo. He could barely stand and was almost blown at one instance in the strong winds of Hurricane Irma. Mariana Atencio at MSNBC was seen pointing a tree fallen across the street while other trees bowed alongside her. Mr. Kyung Lah, from CNN, would have been flying if had not found a railing to catch hold of.

The criticism

Many people criticized the incidence on social media. One person tweeted: “Why do these news networks feel the need to put these reporters out there?”

People drew attention to the fact that reporters stand in risky conditions and advise people stay out of such places. One tweet read: “This is not safe. Lead by example.” This was appreciated by Mr. Chris Cuomo: “There is a strong argument to be made that standing in a storm is not a smart thing to do.”

Originally published at Nextworm.