For as long as TV news crews have filmed on location, some people have used that as an opportunity to steal the spotlight.
Usually, it's all in good fun. Take for example, my personal favorite news-related photobomb featuring the coolest, most adorable little girl in the world.
GIF via Giphy.
Other times, it can be a mess of abusive, sexist, homophobic, or racist words and actions suddenly being given their very own TV platform.
Canadian TV reporter Shauna Hunt recently found herself under verbal attack by a group of men outside a soccer game.
While she was interviewing a couple of men, a third walked up and yelled a really gross phrase into Hunt's microphone.
(He's the guy wearing the black shirt in this clip.)
GIF via CityTV.
Having dealt with this before, Hunt decided she'd had enough and that it was time to stand up for herself.
The men argued that it was a simply a funny thing to say on air and seemed to suggest that because they weren't the only ones who've yelled that (or phrases similar to that), that it wasn't a big deal.
Really, though, the fact that they aren't alone in harassing female journalists is exactly why this is a big deal.
Now let's watch her in action as she (calmly, professionally) stands up to these guys!
GIFs via CityTV.
Another member of the group (the guy towards the right side of this image) told Hunt she's lucky the group didn't stick a sex toy in her ear (that's certainly setting a low bar for what I'd personally consider "good luck" but anyway) and laughed her concerns off.
GIF via CityTV.
You can watch the full interaction below, and while it is bleeped out, be aware that some particularly crude language is being tossed around.
Hunt chatted with CBC Radio's Carol Off about the incident, telling how these types of situations affect her career.
Hunt has had to cancel reports out of fear that once cameras start rolling, she'll be hit with a slew of sexist slurs. Obviously, that's not ideal for her or the network.
"It happens almost every day, at least to me, my other colleagues at CityNews, and I know other reporters in the city get it all the time. ... I remember twice I've cancelled live hits. ... Of course, everyone's really understanding of that. But the fact that this is affecting how we do our job, this is the problem." — Shauna Hunt
Like Hunt said, this isn't unique to her. CBC TV reporter Shannon Martin talked about her own experiences with having men shout "FHRITP" and other slurs at her as she tried to work.
On CBC Radio's "Metro Morning" show, Martin recounted some of the abuse she's endured as a female reporter.
GIF via CBC.
This isn't something male reporters experience, at least not anywhere near as often.
Both Martin and "Metro Morning" host Matt Galloway noted this simply isn't something male reporters are faced with. Martin even asked her male colleagues if they've experienced anything like this, but they haven't.
You can watch the entire interview with Shannon Martin right here:
This is a prime example of how sexism rules society.
Whether it's specific to this phrase or not, this just highlights how easy it is for so many to show such blatant disrespect for someone just because they're a woman.
Even portions of the conversation in the aftermath are hung up not on the well-being of women just trying to do their job, but on whether it's fair for one of the men in the video to lose his job (the one featured in that last image in that series was fired soon after).
Hunt hopes her story can be the spark of a larger conversation, and it looks like she's accomplished her goal because here we are, talking. Let's keep doing that.
"Our intention was not to vilify these two guys. They just happened to be the guys in the confrontation. They're just an example of hundreds and hundreds of men that have been doing this to reporters in Toronto for the past two years. ... What we really wanted was a bigger discussion on the bigger issue. And I think we pulled that off." — Shauna Hunt on CBC Radio
