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I have screwed up on camera more times than I can even count. At CNET, we have a team of awesome (and patient) video producers who edit out our f— ups, and don’t talk s#!& to us when we c*%k up the whole bloody thing.
But on live TV? You sure as hell get a lot less wiggle room.
That’s what Australian news presenter Natasha Exelby discovered when she was caught having a particularly brilliant vague-out during the late night news shift on Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC.
But if BBC Dad taught us anything, it turns out live TV is a minefield. Now, fellow reporters are coming out of the woodwork on social media, using the #Putyourbloopersout hashtag to share their biggest fails.
The ABC has hosed down reports that Exelby was fired, saying, “no one would ever be punished for a blooper and … this has not happened to Natasha.”
“Live television is a demanding art and slip-ups will happen — our presenters are humans, not robots,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
I, for one, stand with Exelby. I screw up so often during test shoots that it’s a miracle we can cobble something together for a complete video. Just last week I went on a tangent on live national TV and started talking about Malibu Stacey during a spot about the iPhone, and during my first live cross I got a heat rash so bad it stretched all the way to my forehead.
But it’s good to know I’m in good company. And frankly, Natasha, the whole CNET video crew is willing to put our bloopers out with you, too.
