This was Thursday, but it could have been any day this week. John Huddy, WNYW/Ch. 5's ace morning correspondent, was knee-deep in water in flood-ravaged Wayne, N.J.
Huddy was walking sideways while talking to the camera.
Quick, who wanted to see him fall and get soaked?
I did. And I like Huddy.
It's the silly water coverage, though, that stinks.
Huddy wasn't the only one in the drink to show viewers that, yeah, the house behind them surrounded in water, is, well, drenched.
"The entire neighborhood is underwater," Adrienne Supino said on Ch. 5 Wednesday night. "It's become kind of an unwelcome ritual in these towns."
So, too, has the swarm of boot-toting correspondents. This time every year, they flood the towns hoping to capture some of the heartache of people retrieving soggy family photos.
Morning, noon and night, stations have had correspondents traipsing around flooded areas in New Jersey this week, many of them in the water, as if that's the only way they could possibly tell the story.
It's an important story, it's just the way the stations tell it that's all wet.
WABC/Ch. 7 had Darla Miles standing in a water-covered street in Wayne during Thursday's noon newscast.
WNBC/Ch. 4's Brian Thompson has been in the water already during the week - he's a real water rat during these things - though he brings some creativity.
No matter which station, the shots are the same. The cameraperson stands out of the water (they're holding thousands of dollars' worth of equipment) and starts with a wide shot of the reporter in the water. The camera goes tight on the correspondent, who after a few seconds of intro cuts to a taped package of them interviewing locals. They then close back in the water, live.
WCBS/Ch. 2 had Christine Sloan in Lincoln Park, N.J., during Wednesday's 6 p.m. newscast. Dana Tyler dutifully told viewers she was with the station's "exclusive" Mobile 2 unit.
Cut to Sloan, who wasn't mobile, but standing in water that appeared to be no deeper than half a foot. She then walked up to the front stairs of the home - not covered in water - and to the front door to show views how the family inside was cleaning up.
Given that Sloan wasn't riding in Mobile 2, it begs the question: Why even bother referring to it other than to say they have it?
Moreover, the mind rambles with potential other tools stations can use to cover the floods.
How about the "exclusive" NBC Local airboat, which could be used by Thompson to give tours of the swamps of Jersey when not covering storms?
Or the WWOR/Ch. 9, "exclusive" ZipCam9, which when deployed properly would allow anchor Harry Martin to soar over the flood without getting his suit wet, and avoid the cost of Wellies.
The potential for useless technology is endless.
Seriously, no one wants to see guys like Huddy get hurt. Indeed, last year, he was shocked - literally - while reporting during a storm.
But maybe it would be fun to see someone take a tumble.
And when Huddy does trip, I'm hoping Ch. 5 has deployed the "exclusive" CarpCam5 - a camera strapped to a fish - to capture him flailing in the water.
Now that would be fantastic television.
rhuff@nydailynews.com
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