British broadcaster Martin Daubney just had an on-air train wreck for the ages. While covering the breaking news of an escaped terror suspect being captured by police, the GB News anchor immediately started bungling the report right out of the gate by referring to the suspect as “the terror man.” The situation got so bad that Daubney dropped an F-bomb as he struggled to salvage the situation, which he did not, much to the delight of Piers Morgan.
“First, it’s the news headlines… no it’s not – we’re going straight to me. This is breaking news – this is fast and happening,” Daubney said via The Daily Beast before realizing he’s already dropping the ball. “F*ck, it’s all gone wrong.”
The situation did not improve as he attempted to bring on a guest and referred him by the wrong name. “Joining me now for the latest is GB News Home Security Editor, Mark White, are you there, Mark?” Daubney said before realizing his latest mistake. “It’s Chip Chapman, we have Chip Chapman.”
This will be shown on journalism training courses for years to come on what happens when someone with no discernible news anchor ability is asked to deal with a breaking story pic.twitter.com/81cMlVVV64
— Tom Hourigan (@TomHourigan) September 9, 2023
One person who particularly enjoyed Daubney’s on-air meltdown was, as we mentioned above, Piers Morgan. Apparently, there’s some bad blood between the two conservative broadcasters, and Morgan absolutely relished watching his rival become an international laughingstock live on the air.
“GB News presenter Martin Daubney recently accused me of failing as a journalist,” Morgan tweeted. “This is Martin handling breaking news on the escaped terrorist.”
GB News presenter Martin Daubney recently accused me of failing as a journalist. This is Martin handling breaking news on the escaped terrorist: pic.twitter.com/ZjwhDdyERv
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 10, 2023
Folks on Twitter also enjoyed Daubney’s debacle, especially his off-the-cuff use of “the terror man.” You can see some of the reactions below:
https://twitter.com/DY2mel/status/1700842754312458436
https://twitter.com/kiernan_alice/status/1700653422838530551
https://twitter.com/cocosarel/status/1700942853730341050
Turns out this journalism malarkey is quite tricky, actually.
— Chris Stone 📽️🎙️🎧 (@ChrisStoneTV) September 9, 2023
Years from now, editors and producers will scare their presenters into doing better by whispering the deadly words "THE TERROR MAN" and "CHIP CHAPMAN" into their ears. https://t.co/gmRBgLNcF4
— Michael Taylor (@M_H_Taylor) September 10, 2023
https://twitter.com/GeorgeReeves94/status/1700661610371498094
GB News realizing that employing Muppets has consequences. https://t.co/B2f8NNwgPU
— RS Archer (@archer_rs) September 11, 2023
(Via The Daily Beast)