11 Times Reporters Had Medical Emergencies On Live TV

In January 2023, CTV reporter Jessica Robb was in the middle of a field segment, during which things seemed to be going smoothly until the reporter abruptly stopped, swallowed hard, and appeared to gather herself for a moment. When she continued, she began immediately stumbling over her words, and the alarm in her eyes was enough to let viewers know that she hadn't simply skipped her morning coffee. When she became unable to continue, she apologized to anchor Nahreman Issa, saying, "I'm not feeling very well right now, and I'm about to ..." As her words trailed off, Issa took over, telling viewers they would make sure Robb was alright; the camera caught the correspondent beginning to sway before cutting back to the studio.

The exact nature of Robb's episode was not disclosed by CTV, but Robb did make a full recovery, thanking viewers for their support on X (formerly known as Twitter). The clip of the incident went viral, and of course, there was a subset of users who took the opportunity to shame Robb for having gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, which they insisted was responsible for her illness. In her statement, Robb put these users right into their place. "My understanding of my own medical background provides a reasonable explanation for what happened," she wrote. "The situation was in no way related to the Covid-19 vaccine." 

Viewers of Los Angeles CBS station KCAL got a heck of a scare at the very top of a March 2023 broadcast. Anchors Rachel Kim and Michelle Medina began the broadcast by priming viewers for some good news from meteorologist Alissa Carlson, implying that a few days of sun were on the way — but their chipper mood went right out the window when, immediately after they handed off to her, Carlson fainted dead away, dropping to the floor behind her desk without speaking a single word. The understandably alarmed anchors cut to a commercial break, and there was certainly cause for their alarm; nine years prior, Carlson had become ill on the air due to a leaky valve in her heart. Fortunately, this time, the reason for her collapse was relatively benign.

It was determined that Carlson had suffered from a vasovagal syncope, a sudden and drastic drop in blood pressure to an overstimulated Vagus nerve, which are some of the most crucial in your entire nervous system. After her recovery, she told CBS This Morning that she'd been feeling fine up until moments before the incident, which she chalked up to having drank a ton of coffee and skipped breakfast (via CBS News). She lamented her decision to ignore how she felt and then keep going. Dr. Jon LaPook, who was also on the show, said, "That's the worst thing you can do. You want to get flat so your heart is at the same level as your head."

In December 2022, veteran Atlanta Hawks announcer Bob Rathbun was beginning his pregame segment with his co-host, NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, by his side (and, importantly, slightly in front of him). Rathbun would later tell The Athletic that he hadn't been feeling well and had vomited a time or two before the broadcast, but that he had worked while feeling crappy before and wasn't about to bail on the segment. "I was thinking, 'I know I'm going to be sick again,'" he said. "But let me just get through this ... and the next thing I remember, an EMT guy was standing in front of me."

What happened in between was startling indeed: As Wilkins began analyzing the night's matchup, Rathbun began to convulse and was visibly struggling to remain conscious while Wilkins, oblivious to the drama playing out right behind him, kept reporting. As the camera cut away, the announcer was tended to by medical staff, and later whisked to the hospital, where he spent five days being examined by doctors who would ultimately find nothing seriously wrong. Although he graciously thanked fans for their support after the incident, the jovial announcer quickly shot down any talk of retirement. "Retire? Why? I'm OK," he said. "Heavens no. I can't wait to get back. This ain't work. This is the NBA. This is so much fun ... I ain't giving this up."

In July 2023, one of soccer's biggest legends, former goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, was on the pitch working as an analyst before a soccer match between Real Madrid and AC Milan. As his colleague Dan Thomas was speaking, Hislop appeared to stumble just a bit — and then fell face-first into Thomas, whose shocked reaction told viewers that Hislop was in no way fooling around. Thomas frantically called for medical staff, and the broadcast quickly cut to a commercial — but in this case, viewers fortunately didn't have to wait too long for an update. At halftime, Thomas, looking quite relieved, addressed the home audience. "It's good news," he said. "He's conscious, he's talking. I think he's a little embarrassed about it all, he's apologized profusely."

Hislop later took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank his fans for their enormous outpouring of support, although he couldn't offer much in the way of explanation for the episode. "Every so often life gives you a moment to pause, and this was mine," he said. "My response now has to be to seek out the best medical opinion I can get and listen to what my doctors have to say ... Thank you. I know now that even when we argue and disagree, I have the fullest support of each and every one of you and I am looking forward to getting back and doing what I enjoy doing most."

In December 2015, CNN anchor Poppy Harlow was wrapping up a segment with a foreign correspondent, segueing into a new poll that reflected a degree of dissatisfaction on the part of Americans with then-president Obama's handling of the war on terrorism. As viewers saw a graphic with the results of the poll on their screens, they heard something a little alarming — Harlow beginning to fumble with her words, then slurring her speech, then simply gasping and falling silent. The feed quickly cut to a commercial, and when it returned to the studio, Harlow was addressing her viewers. "For all of you on Twitter who are asking if I'm okay, thank you so much," she said. "I got a little hot, and I passed out for a moment. I am fine. We're gonna take a little break, and we'll be right back."

Harlow, who was quite pregnant at the time, actually did not return that morning; she went to the hospital, where she and her unborn daughter were tended to by doctors, who pronounced them both to be in good shape. The veteran anchor bounced back in short order and gave birth to baby Sienna in April 2016.

Australian ABC reporter Michael Rennie had only been on his current job for about a week when he gave his co-workers, and his viewers, a scare while reporting from a Queensland meat processing plant that recently laid off hundreds of people. While images of workers toiling away were displayed onscreen, Rennie's speech simply fell apart; he went from minor stumbles over words to being rendered near speechless in just moments, and while anchor Joe O'Brien quickly cut the segment short, the feed cut briefly to Rennie with a very worrying expression on his face. 

O'Brien assured viewers that Rennie was being tended to, but the alarm on his face was not very comforting. Fortunately, it turned out that the episode was due to simple dehydration, and he was back on the air the very next day, reporting once again from the field. At the conclusion of his segment, anchor Lisa Millar couldn't help but express her relief that her colleague was feeling better. "It is terrific to hear from you. You gave us a bit of a scare yesterday," she said. Rennie responded that he was indeed back in fighting shape. "Drinking lots of water this morning and making sure I am staying hydrated," he said. "Got a little bit lost during a live [segment yesterday], but all good today."

Having emergencies on camera isn't the only thing reporters can be concerned with. Read up on the scary reality of being a journalist, or check out the bloopers that got these reporters fired.