OK, so we couldn’t resist.
WFMJ/21 reports that early Wednesday morning, the Youngstown/Warren market NBC affiliate had to cover a fire…and they didn’t have to go far from the station’s headquarters in downtown Youngstown to get to it.
In fact, they didn’t have to leave the station at all.
Quoting WFMJ’s website:
An early morning basement fire broke out in the WFMJ building. Nobody was hurt, but the fire damaged a number of systems used in our news and programming operations.
The time of the fire, about an hour before the morning “WFMJ Today” news broadcast, prompted some quick thinking by station staffers.
So, as pictured here, the morning news team took to the outside of their own building to broadcast live – with a new lead story…their own fire.
The Youngstown Vindicator’s blog reports that vital computers and newsroom editing systems were back in action at just after 8 in the morning, quoting WFMJ news director Mona Alexander:
“Tape editing equipment and computers are the two primary tools of our newsroom, and we have cell phones, so the newsroom is able to function.”
Alexander told the Vindicator that they were doing diagnostics on other equipment. Of course, the Vindicator owns WFMJ, along with sister digital/cable CW Network outlet WBCB.
One wonders what WFMJ would have done if the fire was more extensive.
One option could have been to put the Channel 21 satellite studio at Eastwood Mall in Niles into action. Though, we’ve been there, and we doubt the entire news crew could have fit into the small studio/store…
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