Television reporters who do on-camera reportage are highly visible, and their comments or even the way they deliver their lines could be subject to a lot of viewer scrutiny. For instance, in September 2015, a female ESPN reporter was accused by the wife of the Washington Redskins general manager of engaging in oral sex for a scoop.
On Tuesday, Xiamen TV station suspended a female journalist for wearing sunglasses and holding an umbrella while interviewing people in a community in Xiamen, Fujian Province, hit by Typhoon Merati, reported South China Morning Post. The typhoon killed 13 people in the mainland and affected 700,000 Chinese.
In a statement posted on the TV station’s microblog account, the broadcaster said, “Her behaviour has violated the professional codes of conduct, damaged the image of journalists and has had a negative impact on the public.” It suspended her after the reporter’s photo became viral on social media as Chinese netizens shared the image.
She got a lot of flak for wearing shades and using an umbrella even if the sun was not too intense that day. Some netizens said her wearing of sunglasses while interviewing people is an indicator she did not respect her interviewees.
But one netizen came to the female journalist’s defense by asking, “Does the broadcaster have stipulations that say that journalists who don’t appear on screen cannot hold umbrellas or wear sunglasses while doing interviews?”
In July, Lydia Cummings, a journalist of TV Azteca in Mexico, was caught on camera being carried by locals after floodings in Puebla. Her arms were wrapped around a man and woman who carried Cummings on their shoulder, while she was holding a microphone on one hand and a pink mobile phone on the other hand, but the feet of those who carried her were totally submerged in murky floodwater. The photo also became viral and resulted in the creation of memes, and Cummings was fired by her network, reported New York Post.