Dead Line News: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Sometimes, an anchor in a newsroom or (more likely) on the scene becomes the news. While reporting the chaos caused by a monster attacking the [[Capital City]] or the destructive force of some sort of massive natural or supernatural disaster or another kind of dangerous situation, he or she happens to fall victim to that very event he or she was reporting on.

A subtrope of [[Apocalyptic Log]] and [[Ignored Vital News Reports]]. Often overlaps with [[Red Shirt Reporter]] if the reporter is reporting on-scene ''and'' dies. Not related to [[Spinning Paper]]. See also [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You]].

 

 

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In an anime-only episode of ''[[Ranma ½]]'', a reporter in the mountains talks of how a sabertooth tiger and a pterodactyl (both accidentally created by Ranma, Ryoga and Mousse) have been terrorizing the region. As he speaks, the sabertooth comes into the screen, grins at him as he realises what is sitting next to him, then lunges as the screen goes blank... much to the discomfort of Ranma, currently watching from around the corner back at the Tendo Dojo.

* This was a common occurrence on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', where a news report would often end with the subject of the report [[Drop the Cow|falling on the Newsman]] in a [[Slapstick]] manner.

** A similar joke in a Muppets comic had Fozzie reporting on a home run during a baseball game the night before. Just as he mentions how the ball sailed over the stadium and just kept going, it hits him in the head.

* Parodied on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' during [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=127291&title=The-Bat-Incident a field report] from [[Stephen Colbert]] on a baseball player whose bat had shattered during a game, sending bits of wood flying everywhere - one of the shards hit Colbert while he was looking away and pierced his skull. He doesn't seem to have noticed, but the report degenerates into incoherent rambling.

** This may be a parody of an event that happened in 2000, when Chuck Knoblauch threw a ball into the stands - and hit [[Keith Olbermann]]'s mother in the face.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

 

 

* In ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' episode "Out to Launch" a reporter is making a live-action about a new Space Shuttle as it suddenly gets out of control and goes plummeting towards the control tower. It takes about two seconds after relaying the info for him to realize that he too is in said tower.

* In an episode of ''[[Invader Zim]]'', a giant rampaging hamster crushed the news studio where they reported it, which they had actually been able to easily see him about to do, as they were recording his every action.

* Used several times on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, ranging from [[Kent Brockman News|Kent Brockman]] being attacked by zombies to Kent Brockman being beaten to death by land-walking dolphins.

** Particularly memorable when he was killed by a giant advertising-icon-turned-moving-rampaging-monster version of himself.

* In ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' "[[The Legend of Korra/Recap/B1/E06 And the Winner Is...|And the Winner Is...]]", when Equalists attack the [[Fictional Sport|pro-bending finals]], the [[Combat Commentator|radio commentator]] covers the attack as it happens, even when one of the Equalists enters his booth to silence him.

{{quote|'''Shiro Shinobi''': One of them is in the booth with me right now, folks! He is leveling one of those glove devices at me now, and I believe he is about to electrocute me! [[Bring My Brown Pants|I am currently wetting my pants!]]}}

 

== Other ==

* Not exactly a disaster, but related: there was an Internet joke document years ago which parodied a day-by-day report on the Barcelona Olympics. In it, the Opening Ceremonies wrapped up with footage of perennial Olympics announcer Bob Costas using a fire extinguisher on his butt, because the guy who was supposed to light the torch instead fired his flaming arrow into the NBC press booth.

* Mighty Python and the Final Rip Off had a report from the "man being eaten by a crocodile event" in which the reporter stood too close to the crocodile pit and got eaten.

* The old ''[[King Kong]]'' attraction at Universal Studios has a reporter in a helicopter get caught by Kong and thrown, the helicopter crashing right above the tour bus.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* Anderson Cooper, reporting on Hurricane Dennis, was almost decapitated when a piece of aluminum siding suddenly broke off in the wind and flew straight at him. He managed to get out of the way.

* A weather reporter is reporting on a torrential rainstorm with lightning and thunder, the whole bit, when suddenly there's a flash and the camera dissolves to static for two seconds before cutting back to the confused anchors. The weatherlady was ''struck by lightning''. Worst of all, this is ''played for laughs'' on a comedy show about the funniest moments in television (she survived, but retired).

** Hell, every time Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel is outside, it's a [[Real Life]] example...

* One [[Baseball|Braves game]] radio broadcast had a sequence something like this: "He hits a foul ball, and it's heading into the -" CRASH! "It's between your feet, Skip."

{{quote|"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of [[If It Bleeds, It Leads|bringing you the latest in blood and guts]], and in living color, you are going to see another first -- attempted suicide."}}

* [[Al Jazeera]] lost several reporters during the [[Arab-Israeli Conflict|Second Intifada]], some of which were recording at the time. Since reporters are required to give their locations to the IDF, the already-Israeli-critical network took it [[It's Personal|deeply personally]] when some of those deaths were caused by IDF strikes.

* In late 2011 a group of reporters found their hotel in the Middle East taken over by terrorists. This didn't stop them from continuing to transmit reports back to America with news of what was going on in the hotel.

* During the bombardment of Homs, Syria by government troops, reporter Marie Colvin sent back reports of being shot at and shelled in the basement refuge she shared with both terrified Syrian civilians and her fellow journalists. The day after her last report, she was killed.