Mental Floss 2015-10-06T16:39:07+00:00 2009-10-20T02:00:03+00:00 2009-10-20T02:51:29+00:00 The Late Movies: Local News Bloopers Randy

With hundreds of local news broadcasts reporting live across the country each day, it's inevitable that there would be all manner of embarrassing flubs caught on tape. Now, with the magic of the internet, a worldwide audience can enjoy those local news mistakes.

This video highlights the importance of careful segues between introductions and stories. Especially stories about horrific murders.

Normally killings are no laughing matter, but this new anchor can't seem to keep her guffaws in check. I'll bet she was angry at whomever was making her laugh off-camera.

Another murder reportage tip: if police are withholding a victim's name, try not to say it aloud on the air.

Bystanders love to mess with reporters covering stories live in public, but rarely have I seen someone go so far as to steal a reporter's microphone and run away with it.

A simple case of being in the wrong place at the really, really wrong time.

The "spontaneous banter" portions of a news broadcast are generally the most dangerous and prone to embarrassing flubs. Witness this anchor's poor word choice:

Another flub, this one seemingly inexplicable:

A good idea for a "news you can use"-style segment -- foiled by an unbreakable window.

I think we all saw this one coming. What was she thinking?

Some of the news bloopers you find on youtube are fake -- like this, one, even though it's still one of my favorites.

Not convinced the previous video was fake? Check out this "alternate" version:

October 19, 2009 - 6:00pm