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When it comes to adverse weather reporting, we’ve wondered before about the necessity of live shots of reporters standing right in the middle of the raging storm, flood, hurricane, etc. Of course, the worse end of that apparent necessity is when it leads to what reeks of staging. Remember NBC News correspondent Michelle Kosinski’s report while paddling in a canoe during a flood in New Jersey last year – while two men walked by revealing that the water was only ankle deep? In the wake of a recent spate of intense storms, and the reporting that has accompanied them, it looks like a similar tale is making the rounds.

Writes the Associated Press: “A television news cameraman paid a $145 fine after police said he enticed three teenagers to ride their bikes through waist-high floodwaters.”The Cleveland Plain Dealer offers more from the police report:

A female reporter not identified in the police report waded into the water so the boys would be riding behind her in the video, the report said. An arriving officer witnessed the boys struggling to pedal through the water. Two adults confirmed the boys' stories, the report said. Abrahamsen denied the event, the report said.

Abrahamsen told the Plain Dealer that he pleaded no contest because the fine was cheaper than contesting the charge.

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NBC News anchor Brian Williams led his “Nightly News” broadcast last Thursday night by discussing the “staged” discussion between President Bush and soldiers in Iraq. Here’s how Williams opened the show:

“It was billed as a chance for the president to hear directly from the troops in Iraq. The White House called it a ‘back and forth,’ a ‘give and take,’ and so, reporters who cover the White House were summoned this morning to witness a live video link between the Commander-In-Chief and the U.S. soldiers in the field as the elections approach in Iraq. The problem was, before the event was broadcast live on cable TV, satellite picture from Iraq was being beamed back to television news rooms here in the U.S. It showed a full-blown rehearsal of the president's questions, in advance, along with the soldiers' answers and coaching from the administration. While we should quickly point out this was hardly the first staged political event we have covered, and we've seen a lot of them in the past, today's encounter was billed as spontaneous. Instead, it appeared to follow a script.”

With all the emphasis on staged events, it was surprising to turn on NBC’s “Today” show this morning and see something that looked suspiciously like, well, staging. Introducing her story on the flooding in New Jersey, correspondent Michelle Kosinski was shown paddling in a canoe, shifting her oar from one side to the other, giving the impression she was in some pretty deep and treacherous water.



Only problem is, just as she was explaining how the street was “essentially” part of the flooded river, two men wearing waders and carrying grocery bags walked right in front of her live shot. The depth of the water? Just above their ankles (an noted in some comments below).

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