The teleprompter suddenly failing is every newsreader’s worst fear, and that’s exactly what happened to one unhappy TV personality.
Peter Overton, 57, an experienced British-Australian presenter, was momentarily forced to go it alone while delivering a regular piece on Nine News.
Peter’s typically dependable prompter failed him after reporting on a story featuring Australian National Rugby League player Valentine Holmes.
A teleprompter is a gadget that news broadcasters frequently use to convey the script to the presenter without the words appearing on the screen.
When the camera returned to Peter, it was evident that the universally trusted and crucial technology wasn’t quite operating as it should.
Following the gaffe, there was a brief pause before the seasoned anchor, who began working in 1991, recovered himself and continued as a genuine professional.
For a brief while, he was obliged to use his earpiece to communicate with those working behind the scenes to keep the programme running.
‘Okay, let’s just find out where you’d like me to go,’ he said, as he waited for instructions from producers as to which story he needed to cover next.
The message came back from directors that he needed to discuss the devastating recent earthquake in Morocco: ‘Okay, you’d like me to go to Morocco? Okay.’
To keep the live broadcast running, Peter took up a stack of paper notes in front of him and began reading from the sheet of paper.
Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands said ‘robots’ at Nine News were to blame for the gaffe: ‘They’ve got robots at Nine News running all the gear.’
The gaffe occurred in Australia on the same weekend when a Sky News broadcaster erroneously referred to a guest as ‘Daddy’ when welcoming them to the show.
Mark Austin, 64, was broadcasting live updates on fugitive terror suspect Daniel Khalife, who has since been apprehended, when he made the humorous gaffe.
‘Let’s bring in policing commentator Danny Shaw, who joins us now,’ he began. ‘Good evening daddy, uh… Danny,’ he continued, delighting those watching.
Source My Celebrity Life.
