As I watched the coverage of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, I noticed that I was extremely uncomfortable watching the news reporters give live feeds from outside during the storms. I watched, with a bit of disbelief, a news reporter from CNN reporting from the middle of the flooded streets of Miami advising everyone that there was a mandatory curfew in effect as the streets of Miami were an extremely dangerous place to be. The juxtaposition between where she was standing and what she was saying was not lost on me.

Apparently, I was not alone in my discomfort.  The New York Times reported last week that social media essentially exploded with people questioning why, for example, we had to watch veteran CNN reporter Bill Weir almost blown away by the excessive wind. Even CNN anchor Chris Cuomo-- whom himself was reporting while outside in the storm in Florida-- said, “There is a strong argument to be made that standing in a storm is not a smart thing to do."

So why do they do it? And do we want them to do it? According to The Times, the news values of such reporting goes back decades. But, it has proliferated with the rise of social media and the hunger of the viewing audience to be in the midst of the “action.”

Personally, watching reporters put themselves in danger did not add to the coverage for me.  If anything, it made me more apprehensive.  What do you think?