Newsreader nightmares: When something goes wrong

It’s a newsreader’s worst nightmare when the autocue fails, as the countdown to the live bulletin edges closer. 

ABC news presenter Tamara Oudyn read the entire bulletin on Sunday night with the help of scripts.

She joined Denis Walter to discuss on air mishaps and said it was just the ‘beauty and perils of live television’.

‘A mere minute and a half before the bulletin started on Sunday night, our autocue operating system decided to go to sleep and would not be revived,’ she said.

‘For the entire 40 minute bulletin despite the best efforts of our tech crew madly working behind the scenes trying to get it back and up running, we had to do it the old school way and read off paper.’

3AW Afternoons regular contributor Peter Hitchener has had his fair share of well-handled recoveries when something has gone wrong on TV.

Including the infamous ‘seagull incident’ and the more recent coughing fit.

3AW Afternoons callers shared their stories with Denis, when things have gone wrong at work.