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In the middle of a broadcast in Ohio, TV reporter Myles Harris was interrupted by a local fan—his mother.
He posted the surprise on Instagram in a video that has garnered over 500,000 views.
Harris was recording a segment for local channel WSYX-TV in Columbus when the cameraman caught his reaction to a car pulling up behind him. Throwing his hands in the air with exasperation, Harris told the videographer, "That's my mom, hold on."
The cheerful mother drove into frame with her window rolled down, shouting: "Hi baby!"
"I'm trying to work right now, and you're over there calling my phone!" Harris yelled back, while his cameraman chuckled off-screen.
"This is DeAngelo," the reporter added, pointing to the cameraman. "You can say hi."
His mom waved and said hello before Harris ushered her off. "Don't be holding up traffic because you got cars behind you," he said, conceding a smile as he turned back to his team. The mom, who is identified in his caption as Sandi, blew a kiss as she drove away.
Videographer DeAngelo Byrd also shared the video on Instagram, with the caption: "So happy I captured this and mama Sandi came by to show some love!!"
Viewers were touched by the moment, and other TV reporters commented that they had to get proud moms off their own backs as well.
"My mom would absolutely do this," wrote radio host Joy Taylor.
Kansas City reporter Leslie DelasBour commented that her mom would do the same thing, adding, "but with my luck she'd drive up on me during a live shot."
This is not the first time a reporter has gone viral for interruptions during a broadcast. In a much more disturbing video, New York reporter Brianna Hamblin was captured deflecting sexual harassment and lewd comments about her race only seconds before she went live.
"Being hit on and harassed as a woman, especially as a woman reporter out in the field, happens so often you learn how to roll with it or ignore it," she wrote in her post.
Hamblin's video has reached 5.4 million views on Twitter and an outpouring of empathy from women in all manner of professions. "To all the women who related to this," she wrote, "I'm sorry and want to give you a big virtual hug. Thank you for sharing your own experiences too so men realize how common and unwanted this is."
About the writer
Shira Li Bartov is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is on trending news, human interest and ... Read more