All right, listen to this.
The mayor of Hialeah got into a fist fight on the scene.
Sky Six is live.
AMBC Six.
Miami Live Four.
We are rolling.
We ready, everybody?
Give us control here.
That's incredible.
That's the mayor of Hialeah.
Miami, Florida, a pulsing city of style and song.
It's the new Alice Island, where Cuban immigrants come to America and cultures collide.
You gotta love this city.
When a story breaks in Miami, NBC Six tries to cover every angle.
We want to go to her now.
It can be a rough ride.
AMBC Six.
Go, go, go, go.
Just a couple minutes away.
Break out of this.
Miami Ghost Satellite.
I love you, Miami.
That's amazing, isn't it?
NBC Six.
In a city where the news never stops.
I want that stuff live.
Sky Six takes off to cover breaking news across the city of Miami.
We need to call them and say, what are you going to do?
Why aren't you arresting these people?
It's three hours into a 16-hour day for news director Ramon Escobar.
Everyone needs to understand at this point, the story has changed.
At NBC Six, we have seven newscasts a day.
We need to stay on scene.
So I'm responsible for every second of that newscast.
Fine, guys.
My point is, in the beginning of tonight's 11 o'clock show, all of that should be in
the first piece.
I came from an immigrant family that moved to this country, and they learned English
by watching television.
And to me, that illustrated the awesome power that television had.
Miami and South Florida, it's got the most breaking news of any town in the world.
I mean, it's amazing.
Off Miami Beach, the Sky Six chopper has spotted something down on the water.
The Coast Guard is chasing six refugees from Communist Cuba.
Having abandoned their boat, the men are trying to swim to shore.
On the beach, Cuban Americans cheer for them to reach dry land.
And we're overseeing it.
We're watching it.
Seen right now is a Coast Guard, a smaller Coast Guard boat is like five, 10 feet away
from the Cubans.
They've got a little hovercraft, a pontoon-type boat in the water.
They're trying to get these guys to come in the boat.
Some of these guys are trying to half swim to shore, some of them aren't.
It's a developing story right now.
See, there he goes.
He's just resting.
See, I'm telling you.
He's not going to go on.
Can we get it up live?
The first thought was, this is pretty big here, because anything that drives people
to do this, you have to be pretty fired up about it.
Okay.
What's the latest?
The latest is we've got a group of Cubans in the water who are trying to get away from
the Coast Guard.
It's obvious they're trying to get away.
They don't want to be...
In their hands.
Correct.
Have any of them made sure?
No.
Where's Ike Siemens?
Ike is here in the building.
Why don't we get Ike up?
Can Ike explain the reason why they're trying to get to shore?
And the next cut in is because if their feet hit the ground, it triggers a whole new set
of immigration law.
Can we see if we can get Ike on set in two minutes to explain this?
If they're caught at sea, they're in a limbo, but if they make it to land, they can make
a claim.
We do want this live for the 3 o'clock update.
QSL?
The Coast Guard might be popping us out of here with, say, bringing the Hilo from our
vantage point.
Probably yours will look second.
Ramon will cut into regular programming and go live with the breaking story.
My job is to ask questions and to push people in the right direction.
I was pretty animated about making sure that was happening.
He wants his senior correspondent, Ike Siemens, to go on the air.
I've had a good year.
I've been happy with it.
I'm hoping to next year.
My boss is standing here saying, get off this phone.
You've got important television work to do.
That's right.
He says goodbye.
I'll see you, Cindy.
Bye-bye.
I want you to go on and explain why these Cubans are trying to reach shore.
And they're letting go of the Coast Guard.
They don't want to obviously be in the boat.
Where is he going?
Studio.
You're going to explain the law, right?
Explain why they're trying to hit land, and how that's the immigration law.
He's got it.
Give you a heads up.
Do you know approximately what time, Tim?
Soon as we can get geared up.
Hopefully in less than a minute.
Reporter Andrea Brody joins the breaking story.
Basically, they're in a race for their life right now against the Coast Guard, and they
are going to be fighting for their rights to the coast.
Heads up.
Do you know approximately what time, Tim?
As soon as we can get geared up,
I mean, hopefully in less than a minute.
Reporter Andrea Brody joins the breaking story.
Basically, they're in a race for their life right now
against the Coast Guard after spending days
on this little tiny boat trying to get to the country.
They're pretty far from shore, too.
For me, always the emotion hits me first.
Pretty amazing.
That's what hit me about the story,
that these people could be driven to such a point
where they would risk everything.
Can we get an immigration lawyer or someone,
just for later, to talk about the stupidity of this policy?
You know, that it creates situations like this?
I'm thinking an immigration lawyer or someone,
an expert on policy to talk about how ridiculous this is.
Right, I know.
Is there someone in the booth?
Correct, repatriation back to their homeland.
Right, correct.
One of the anchors gets ready to go live
from the newsroom floor.
When are we going?
As soon as you guys are ready, let's do it,
but let's keep it tight.
You're watching WTVJ, NBC 6.
["WTRS News Theme"]
A desperate bid for freedom
becomes a dramatic standoff at sea.
Six Cubans swim for their lives
and a new life in America.
Good afternoon, I'm Jerry Helfman,
reporting on a developing story in Surfside.
A couple of people believed to be Cuban refugees
were spotted floating in the water off Hollover Beach
to Cuba.
Let me get near a camera then.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
At one point, the Coast Guard tossed a lifeline
to one of these refugees and they tossed it back
because again, they don't want to be rescued.
Tell them to switch to me now.
This is a...
Switch to me now.
Sure, our senior correspondent, Ike Siemens,
is in our studio watching these events as well.
Yeah, so this is very significant.
If a Cuban refugee can touch land in the United States
before he is caught by the Coast Guard,
then he or she can stay in this country.
They cannot be sent back.
I guess my emotions are more focused on the story
in terms of are we being aggressive enough?
If you allow yourself to get too emotionally involved
in the story, you're not effective.
You have to try your best to be a fair observer
of the situation.
Hold on!
Hello, hello, hello.
Pretty wild scene, they're all freaking out.
Andrea is sent to the beach to report live
as the Cubans arrive.
It sounds like they've now gathered enough experts
in the studio and in the newsroom
that they're gonna keep flipping back and forth to them.
Tony Segretto, Jackie Nesbraw, Hank Tester, Ike Siemens,
Jerry Helfman, John Lang.
So it sounds like my role is gonna be reduced to out here
just saying, well, I can still see, you know,
one out in the water and there are three on shore
and their health looks okay.
As Andrea heads to the beach,
events are unfolding on the water.
Oh, they caught somebody.
Some of the Cubans have been caught by the Coast Guard.
Two are still swimming.
Two are still swimming to shore.
Do you think the fact that there are helicopters,
media helicopters up there,
that might make a difference
as to how the Coast Guard is acting in this situation?
How many Coast Guards you have?
Brody's on the beach.
We have one on the beach, one in the air,
and a second crew on the way.
Any reporter on the beach?
No, Brody's on the way right now.
Robert, this is my neighborhood.
I know 79 takes forever, forever.
Obviously, you're wrong, but look at all this traffic.
This clears up, it clears up.
It's not gonna be clear,
it's the scene that's blocking this whole thing,
is blocking everything, so that's why we're not moving.
Well, this was backed up when I left, so maybe,
maybe it'll clear a little bit, I don't know.
We have to land, we need fuel.
We are going to have to put the chopper down for fuel.
We're gonna stay with pre-recorded pictures
and stay interviewing the Coast Guard right now.
How long do we take to refuel and get back there?
15 minutes.
How did we run out of gas?
Have we been up that long?
I'm checking over at St. John's, yeah.
We're flying some scenes, I guess,
it's a snooze today.
When this happened.
Maybe one or two minutes ago.
Don't they have like reserves?
I don't think they do.
It's like that movie, Hunt for Red October.
It's like, don't you have reserves?
I guess the most important thing.
Let's go back to our set here.
Our Sky Six helicopter is going to go refuel,
we're gonna bring you up to speed.
We were uncovered in the sense
that we didn't have a live picture,
because the chopper had to refuel.
So, you know, anytime that happens,
you just cross your fingers and hope nothing big happens.
Go, go, go!
Just offshore, a beach patrol officer
points a swimmer toward police waiting on the beach.
So we'll do it.
All right, listen, I've got JC on the line.
He's got 15 minutes of outstanding video
he needs to feed now.
One of the Cuban refugees has made it to shore,
and their cameraman has caught the dramatic moment on tape.
Fat truck, fast forward your tape
to where he comes on shore.
Speed forward.
Off the shot so we can forward to the money shot.
Off the shot.
Second to center.
That's this very Thursday here in Congress.
Where's the one where the guy dives
and the people are cheering him in?
Right in the middle of this.
Hold it right there, stand by, hold it.
Stand by and roll it.
Hold on, hold on.
Stand by, don't roll, stand by, hold it, pause.
3-37.
Who popped it?
Yeah, I did.
Pause your tape, don't, satellite truck, stop.
Pause your tape.
Okay, rewind, rewind, rewind.
Back up real quick, just stand by, pause it.
We're rolling live on the air.
The pictures have been fed to the station.
Now they have to get them on the air.
Ramon's only problem is that a politician is in mid-sentence.
And it's that speaker's actually note on that same day
that we have taken such an aggressive stand
against freedom speakers here in the US.
There is a process in place.
It has been working.
Whether one agrees with it or not, it is a process.
Eliana, uh.
In cases that are not meritorious,
we know that the deportations were going to take place.
Eliana, this is.
Congresswoman, thank you very much.
We're gonna, we're looking at some of this video now.
We thank you for joining us.
We will follow this through.
Now we're gonna just watch and listen
as this Cuban national comes to shore.
Go, go, go!
Back up!
If you're not moved by this.
I don't care who you are.
If you are not moved by what you just saw.
You don't know what is going to happen now.
And you don't know what will happen to you.
And you don't know who will not��
because they'vedisployed you.
They've dis Doctor.
They've neighboured you.
They've cutest due when they see you.
Don't know of a betteré brain.
What do you want?
Go!
No, you.
You all.
Yeah.
by what you just saw, then you are not a compassionate human being, because this was truly something
to watch right here.
And just to translate a little bit about what the other Cubans on the beach, or Cuban Americans
on the beach were saying to him, they were saying, go ahead, come, come, just go, touch
the soil, come this way.
Ramon still wants a live interview on the beach before he goes back to the Rosie O'Donnell
show at 4 o'clock.
We have two reporters, three photo's at the scene, but who's going to make it there first?
Andrea, by far, and what do you think her ETA is?
Andrea's finally arrived at the beach for her live shot.
The whole time we're going out there, I'm trying to get the feel for the story and I'm
listening to it grow, and I'm thinking, this sucker's a monster, this is going to be big.
But when I got to the beach, there's nothing we can see from there, the guys are already
gone, the Coast Guard Cutter is a quarter mile out, there's nothing for you to do.
While Andrea searches for her story, the newscast continues.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Tony and Jackie.
Thank you, Roland.
Well, it's a warning we get every year around this time, and we all need to listen.
She's got nine minutes.
Can she get on the air before nine minutes?
With only a few minutes left, Andrea still needs something for her live shot.
Did you see the whole thing?
You want to talk to us about it?
Hi, were you here?
Do you speak English?
Yes.
Hi, how are you doing?
Hey Tim, we're on the beach.
Give us a scene, tell us what you're seeing right now.
Do you have any information at all?
No, where we are in the truck is a parking lot away from the scene.
You need to get to the truck, wherever the truck is is where you need to be.
The truck and the scene, they're away from each other.
She's walking to the truck right now.
We got four minutes left to do here.
What they don't understand is when you're out in the field, you really don't have access
to any information.
Like right when you show up and you can't see as well as they can from the air.
I mean they're in a better position to find out what's going on or see what's going on
than we are even right here.
She's walking to the truck right now.
She should be on the air momentarily.
In the minute it took to assess that situation, I get Paige to get in front of the camera
now.
They're going up to the truck.
They're going up.
Any minute now.
I'm in the camera now, with what?
I don't have anything.
I just got here.
There's nothing happening.
She went in to get an interview, came back, and just rolled it raw.
That's okay.
I don't want you to touch her.
Will you wash my bag?
Will you all see it, when the guys came in?
Who saw it?
Who watched it?
Can you talk to us live about what you saw?
So finally we found someone who was a witness and grabbed them.
We absolutely need her before 4 o'clock, QSL.
In that live interview, the witness is going to kill 40 seconds for me and save me.
Because there's nothing I can talk about at this point.
I have no information. I'm just standing on a beach.
We're on. We're about to see Brony.
Before a live shot, the tension level rises.
And that moment is more intense, perhaps, than others because that's when you really need to perform.
Okay, I'm standing by.
Why don't we get our viewers up to date for those viewers who are just joining us.
Brony's up! Brony's up!
Andrea, are you there?
I sure am. Let me first give you some perspective.
We're on the beach here, right on Surfside.
Out there, you can still see the Coast Guard cutter.
There are a group of people also still gathered on the beach just beyond me.
They're waiting to see what happens.
And many of them were here to watch this entire drama unfold.
One of those gentlemen is Jose Rivera, who works in your office.
Oh, cool.
When did you first learn that this was happening out in the ocean?
When they bought the color for the game.
And I did it for four.
It's a sign to everybody, I say, hey, freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom.
Yes, yes.
All right, Jose, thank you so much.
Okay.
All right, guys, we're going to hit Rosie no matter what.
Where's the Steve?
We're now going to return you to our regular programming.
Rosie at 4 o'clock. We will have news updates throughout the next hour.
Six Cuban nationals trying to make it to freedom, literally diving to shore,
hoping to get to the promised land.
Thank you for joining us. We will see you again at 5.
The fun's just beginning.
We've got a package at 5 and a package at 6.
Go back and try and take a look at the video as quickly as we can
and see what we have to work with and try and write it as quick as possible.
As Andrea heads off with less than an hour to write her story for the 5 o'clock broadcast,
back in the newsroom, a shocking discovery is made.
We have video that shows the Coast Guard spraying something at them.
We have video of something. What is it?
Coming to TLC.
Off Miami Beach, live television has captured the Coast Guard chasing six Cuban refugees.
Two reach freedom in the U.S.
But now witnesses on the beach are raising questions about the Coast Guard's tactics
and calls are coming in to NBC 6.
I've gotten several calls. People saw this happen.
One of the migrants was chased by the Coast Guard.
We have to call the Coast Guard.
The new angle that's emerging is how the Coast Guard behaves.
They sprayed water at the Cubans while they were on the boat.
We don't have video of that. Chitin does.
They sprayed water on the Cubans and the second thing was that they sprayed something.
This is pretty traumatic, I think.
Guys, he will not comment on actual use of force.
He said they do carry OC pepper spray.
And if it was used, they will investigate. That's what they're saying.
Without Coast Guard confirmation, Ramon can't report that pepper spray was used.
Our job is to make sure that we put things into context, that we are fair,
that we are giving the true interpretation of what happened.
We have to be really careful. Really, really careful.
I just saw people up there that he's interviewing. So I haven't listened to it.
At the beach, Andrea Brody has to write the lead story on the Cubans' dive to freedom for the 5 o'clock broadcast.
She needs translation help from cameraman Robert Hernandez.
Don't worry about it. You made it to shore.
Don't worry about it. You made it to shore. But there was somebody screaming at our head.
He's got all the footage. I'm telling you, it's just awesome.
One guy was like zigzagging back and forth.
You work all day for just a minute and 45 seconds on the air.
You really want that minute and 45 seconds to be flawless.
I need to get immigration law people. You said you called Ira Kurzbett already?
Do you want me to make the call and try to set that up?
And what's going on with the Coast Guard? Who's talking to the Coast Guard?
Reporter Ari Odser is just getting to work and has only a few minutes to catch up on what's happened.
Okay, make sure she talks at length about the legal aspects of this.
All right, bye.
All right, Steve, let's go.
Do you have the address?
What fear of air do you get?
Actual human drama like that, live, right on TV.
These guys trying to make it to shore, trying to make it to freedom as the whole world is watching.
Okay, I'm going to follow you.
Ari heads off for an interview with an immigration lawyer.
In the truck, as 5 o'clock approaches, tensions rise for Andrea and fellow reporter Martha Segalski.
Andrea, that's all we have, Robert. We don't have no sound bites.
But now I have to find it?
That sound was a 20-minute package to edit.
It's not that sound, it's like a bite.
There are times when you are getting a little panicked when things are not together.
They say that when you're working your butt off, keep it quick.
Let's see if she's in.
Ari arrives for his interview with immigration lawyer Cheryl Little.
Our job as reporters is not just to recite facts. We have to tell a story.
We have to make it compelling and we have to make it memorable.
Microphone, camera.
And there's a lot that goes into that.
It's a 20...204?
No, definitely 204.
207.
What the hell?
Yeah, it's definitely the right building.
Call the desk and get to the car.
This is only happens with Ari Adzert.
Let's go to 3000 Biscayne.
We're real close. Just a few blocks away.
Who has spoken to Robin Kish?
I have, Robin.
Oh, you have on the phone now?
Yes.
Ramon decides to go with the pepper spray story, but he has to watch how it gets raced.
I think you need to report it this way.
I think you need to say, MBC 6 was able to capture on camera while we were covering the story,
Coast Guard officials spraying some substance at one of the Cubans in the water.
Now, here's what we know.
We know from the video that they were spraying something.
Coast Guard will not confirm what they were spraying,
but they do tell us that they do carry pepper spray.
Well, it's 445 now.
Let me look. I'm looking.
I would be ready to get an eye though.
She knows the language to use. Where is she going?
5 and 6. Second story. Right after Ramon. Second story.
Channel 6?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
Can we come in for a second?
Channel 6 is here.
Ari's finally found the right office for his interview.
Okay.
But there's a new obstacle.
Well, no, I guess. We'll have to wait.
What happened was some documentary crew was in there talking to her.
We had to wait for these guys.
Meanwhile, you know, it's getting late, so I'm thinking, am I going to make this or am I not going to make this?
3, 2, 1. Minutes later, a second passenger appears. They scream. 3, 2, 1.
Minutes later, a second passenger appears. The screams from the beach, come on.
He pauses looking for a path.
Amazing we get this done.
MUSIC
What did you just?
Your office.
My office.
Great. Thanks.
Ari's got his interview, but it'll have to be quick.
Repeat, we've got 5 minutes to add in a little bit of different video.
Oh, here we go.
Okay, I'm just, they're not going to want to see the same video that came out of her package.
Well, it's too bad.
I'm just telling you.
We don't have it. We don't have a relation.
I feel like making a switch with 10. We'll give them the arrest video if they give us the water cannon.
Ramon's got pictures of the Cuban diving to shore, but he wants water cannon footage that his rival, the Channel 10, has.
This is Ramon Escobar, News Director of Channel 6. Can I talk to Bill real quick?
Hey, I think we could do an exchange of video. I have a proposition.
I don't know if you guys have video of the arrest when the guy came on shore and jumped like he was sliding into second base.
I will exchange that video with you if you give me video of the guys, of the water cannon shot on the guys in the boat.
Just making a proposition.
Okay.
I'm going to go do the intro and tag. Thanks.
They'll be repatriated to Cuba after having come within yards of freedom.
Since I'm going on set, I'm going to do makeup.
It's an amazing thing I've seen in years.
Isn't it?
It's incredible.
I know.
Thank you, Robert.
With her story edited, Andrea is ready to go live.
Do I need your mic?
Yes.
I need your mic?
I am a hometown girl, which is wonderful for me.
Family's all here. Grandparents are all here.
This is like being drafted by your hometown team.
Good afternoon, everyone.
A lot of news is next to five.
A dramatic swim for freedom off South Florida shores, and it all unfolds on live television.
People that I'm closest to in the universe are all watching.
And I know that the feedback for me is going to be really immediate and uncensored.
It doesn't touch me.
Come on, get in, get in.
An incredible show.
John Colvin.
It's amazing, isn't it?
Good evening, everyone.
High drama on the high seas as the refugees refuse to be rescued.
Need a cable for IFB.
Cable? I don't have a cable.
Thank you.
Hello. Hello.
Now we can't go wireless.
You're not going wireless.
All right.
Now they're going to, you know, it's just...
All right, less than a minute.
NBC6 reporter Ari Alder spoke with some experts and is here with some answers, Ari.
Well, Jackie, as we all watch those swimmers coming to shore, we all had questions.
Well, plug the other side.
Do you have a camera?
Yeah, I have Robert Hernandez.
White balance, please, Ann.
Ann, please, white balance.
Plug this in.
All right.
Ann, Ann, please. Plug this damn thing in.
At the time, I didn't know, neither did she, about the alleged pepper sprays.
She couldn't comment on that.
Okay. All right, thank you.
We're like probably 30 seconds away or something.
Yep.
Here, here, here.
NBC6 reporter Andrea Brody is there live?
Andrea too did make it ashore.
That's right, Tony.
The beach is calm right now.
Through an earpiece connecting her to the studio, Andrea learns that something is wrong.
Her edited story was transmitted to the station but has somehow disappeared.
This was literally a dramatic race for freedom.
In my ear, all I'm hearing is stretch, stretch, stretch.
They had a pretty good shot of the action from where they stood right here.
I had shown up at the beach and plopped myself down.
I didn't have much to stretch with.
And usually if they say stretch, you can talk 10 seconds easily.
That's about all it ever is, but kept going.
Apparently, the Cuban migrants still a little worried that even though they're onshore,
they're going to arrest them and that would be it for them, perhaps back into Cuba.
I'm like, holy mackerel, and I ran out of things to say.
Oh, come on, guys.
Before others, that was not the case.
They were taken on board the cutters and handcuffed.
What's going on here?
Tape up?
In just a few seconds, we'll show you the pictures of their arrival.
And here it is right now.
That was a long ass stretch.
At 5 o'clock, I wasn't happy about my performance.
Very upset, very, very upset.
I should have had a backup plan in case that happened, and I didn't.
So at the end of the night, I wasn't feeling triumphant.
I don't know, but I warned them ahead of time.
I was still in that 5 o'clock egg on my face situation, and I was pissed at myself.
Well, Roland is here.
We were expecting dry weather today.
Well, what happened?
I said it was going to be drier than it has been, and it has, but overall,
now we're seeing some of these showers flaring up.
Guys, I mean, it's just so hard to pinpoint.
Fairly remarkable that about an hour ago, we were just leaving the lawyer's office,
and we turned around, put a piece together, cut the piece,
wrote the intro and tag, went on live, put it on there.
We did speak with Coast Guard officials.
As the 5 o'clock broadcast continues, the pepper spray footage finally airs.
...OC pepper spray as standard equipment.
However, they will not confirm or deny what substance was used.
Reporting live, Ron.
Once in a while.
It's all in the works.
Over Miami, the Sky Six chopper has spotted a crowd of Cubans gathering to protest.
The numbers are growing, the traffic is backed up,
and the newsroom sees another story developing.
Everybody stay on the set.
Keep the anchors on the set.
In Miami, anything can happen in a community like this.
Word of the Coast Guard's use of pepper spray has gotten out,
and the Cuban community is up in arms.
As the refugees are being held in a detention center,
protesters are blocking the highway and traffic is at a standstill.
The incident really just began to take on momentum
because at first it was the story of this guy jumping on shore,
and then it became the story of the Coast Guard treatment of this guy,
and I think that's what people are reacting to is the Coast Guard treatment.
I understand the frustration.
These are people, many of them mothers and fathers, who have had their daughters and sons die.
Some of them have been in jails for years.
When you think about it that way, then you begin to realize that these people are reacting
to a very emotional situation and one in which they have suffered a tremendous amount of pain.
All right, listen, in Hialeah, West 49th Street and 12th Avenue is shut down too.
Live truck just got there. He's establishing a signal now.
You have to leave very, very, you have to leave as early as possible
because it's a trek to get there.
A lot of concern how we're going to get there because the roads are blocked,
so using my intimate knowledge of the streets of Miami Beach,
we're going to try to maneuver our way back there without really having a clear avenue.
We're going to have to walk a lot.
Howard, you ready?
I'm thinking, okay, I've got exactly 40 minutes to get to my live show
because I'm at the top of the 11 o'clock show, and it was 20 after 10 when we left the building.
Put this back there, Howard.
But at the end of the day, you know, all you can do is try your best.
You can't do more than that.
Your forecast is coming up next. Stay with us.
No matter what the news, Roland Stedem can always forecast whether Miami will have a nice day.
I kind of trained myself to make the camera a personal friend,
and so I'm talking to a friend about what's happening with the weather.
And just the same goes for us on Sunday.
It's not just a job, it is my life.
Wednesday, have a great weekend.
Checking mic 1212, testing 1212.
But before I do that, I've got to go comb my hair, do my makeup.
My kids are still freaked out that their daddy wears makeup.
I assure them, kids, only when I go to work, hairspray is essential.
For the first two or three years of my life in television, I almost wish I had the pen underwear.
I was so scared of the camera.
It is South Florida, it is June, but after about 10, 15 years or so, you just kind of get used to it.
I think people at home think that you're standing in front of an actual satellite picture.
All right, 79 degrees outside right now. The high temperature today in Miami only got up to 83 degrees.
I'm not afraid to turn my back to the camera to point.
Most of the showers and the storms now just really beginning to quiet it down.
I actually make myself look like I'm looking at the wall.
High pressure will be setting up offshore here when I'm actually looking at the television monitor.
The right side is the wet side, the left side is the dry side.
If there's potential for it to have something go wrong, it certainly can go wrong during weather.
OK, folks, we obviously have some kind of a problem, technical difficulties.
This is live television. Let's go to it full. Can we just go to it full, guys?
Ooh, I'm beaming out, Scotty. Wow. Listen, I'm going to stand out. I'm getting dizzy.
Ari's path to the protest is blocked. He'll have to go by foot.
This is another moment of television glamour.
Walking in the rain in 100 percent humidity, it's about 90 degrees out to our live shot.
It's not a close walk either.
It's quarter to 11. I have 15 minutes to get there.
It was certainly dramatic to see all these people in the middle of the MacArthur Causeway,
and there's a light misty rain falling, and there's a full moon over Miami,
and it was like, this is an only Miami story.
When I was coming over that bridge, I was thinking, where is the truck?
I don't see the truck. Where is my live shot?
And then all of a sudden, boom, there's Nick standing there with the engineer and the photographer.
Oh, I see. They had run the cables all the way up there.
The panelist has said, hey, we'll win a great victory. Adios.
Ramon Salvo Sanchez is in the middle here saying, we're not going to leave until we hear somebody from Washington,
like a Reno spokesman, say, there's day. So this is all seamless?
Huh?
You, Hank, Hank.
I guess so. I'm not sure.
But all I know is about my story. I'm not really up to speed on everything else that's happening. I know my story.
Mike.
When I say here on the MacArthur Causeway...
I knew that when I came out there that I was going to have protesters in my background,
so I had to tailor what I was going to say to take advantage of that.
This one's in the left saddle.
I need an officer out here.
Let the lady say something.
I can't. I'm doing a live report here, buddy. I can't do it. I can't do it now.
OK, I'm sorry. I got to do my live shot, OK?
This was the response. Thousands of angry Cuban exiles stopping traffic.
We begin with Ari. He has the latest on this new development.
Jackie, we saw that we're swimming not for their lives, but to live their lives in freedom.
Here's a property right now in the MacArthur Causeway.
We still have quite a few demonstrators here.
Lock in the road, but they're still here after many have gone home.
Even after the news, all six refugees will be given a chance to stay in this country.
Thank you, and from Ari Adler at the Coast Guard station.
People are very passionate here about especially that issue, anything involving Cuba,
so you always get good stories here.
This is why Miami is the best news market in the country.
Later that night in a neighboring suburb, passions are turning violent.
While the chopper's up, I was looking at Ariel's, too.
We'll take a picture of that.
It's too late to go on the air, but they want pictures for the morning news.
We have action here to move.
All the takes and all the cameras leave.
Look at that.
They got that guy handcuffed.
Look at this, Patricio.
Who is there?
These are kids out of school who have nothing better to do.
We're going to get them.
These are kids out of school who have nothing better to do.
They're calling for rescue units now.
Some police officers were hurt.
No way.
Let me get back there and tape and make sure it's rolling.
All right, listen to this.
The mayor of Hialeah got into a fist fight on the scene.
Do you understand what political damage this can create?
You see this mayor who's beating up on a guy who goes to show you the passions involved in this issue.
Miami Live 4, we are rolling.
Here comes some of the tape.
Well, that's the mayor of Hialeah right there in the shirt.
It looks like it's a short sleeve.
That's the mayor of Hialeah.
We're rolling.
America Unleashed.
It's a new day in Miami, and in local news, that means a new story.
Okay, we're heading out to the Everglades to do a story about the resurgence of the American crocodile.
There's only one place in the world where crocodiles live in America, and that's in South Florida.
The Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant has this big network of cooling canals,
and the crocodiles have taken to that area as a habitat.
Ari's going to help croc doc Joseph Wasilewski release newborn crocodiles into the wild.
I've only been studying the glades.
Since 73.
Really?
Yeah.
Joseph works with North America's only wild population of American crocodiles.
I've got 23 babies that are already marked in microchip.
You and I will release them.
American crocodiles generally are shocked.
They're not like their saltwater cousins from Australia or Africa, where they are considered man-eaters.
Yeah, oh, he's mad at me.
Oh, see, he's got his mouth open.
They are kind of cute, though.
How old is this croc?
It was born last night.
Oh, they were just born.
Just born last night, yeah.
Four, six, 12, 17.
If I get through this without being bitten, it's going to be a miracle.
21, 23.
Let's go and show them their new home.
We could have mutant mosquitoes out there.
We could have mosquitoes that could carry us away.
It is the state bird of Florida, too, the mosquito.
We're going in this boat here.
It's a neat story because most people think, you know, alligators in Florida.
Nobody thinks crocodiles in Florida, and they're out there.
It doesn't look seaworthy, but it looks canal-worthy.
It's canal-worthy.
That's all we care about.
That's it, man.
The refugee story is still making news.
Following a night of violence, the Cuban community is demanding to know the fate of the six men who were arrested and sent to Crome, an immigration detention center.
Pressure's mounting for their release, and Andrea's going to Crome to wait.
It's going to be a long day.
I can do KFC.
I can do pizza if we have to.
That's about it.
Can I have two pieces of original recipe, all white, with just a piece of corn?
So off we go to the edge of the earth to Crome, which is very far south, to begin a waiting game.
I've done a lot of unique things in this job.
I've landed on an aircraft carrier in a plane.
I've driven a nuclear submarine.
I've escaped from a burning car.
There's a high neato factor to a lot of what we do in television news.
What kind of satisfaction do you get personally out of this work?
Right now is probably what we're going to do in the next few minutes.
And I hope you get to feel a little bit in your heart, because here you've got a prehistoric 200-million-year-old dinosaur,
and you're going to actually let it go and let it swim away.
Don't slip in there.
OK, guys.
Here you go.
How often do you get to hold a baby crocodile in your hand and release it into the wild?
I feel a little paternalistic now.
I want these things to survive.
See? I told you.
Yeah, you're right.
I've done a lot of neat things in this job that most people don't get to do.
Every single day I'm thankful that I don't have a real job.
That's how I feel about it.
I'm just going to go check it out real quick.
Chrome Detention Center is where they place anyone waiting for political asylum.
I've never actually seen the facilities, but I just know somewhere back there,
you know, are all these people just fighting and waiting to get out.
Leave it up! Leave it up!
Andrea needs to capture the moment of the Cubans' release.
It's like a horse race. Just fight for good position.
Every time we saw a pair of headlights come down that road, we had to be ready.
OK, now's the moment.
No idea if this is them or just the kids.
Not them.
No?
Nope.
It's the guards.
Everybody, it's just the guards.
Bye-bye.
Thank God we ate.
The bag of Texas fries is feeling real good right now.
All you're doing is babysitting the situation.
Chances are nothing's going to happen for a long time, but you need to be there in case it does.
You just have to be on alert.
Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting.
It's getting close to the time where I start to get a little antsy.
It's 8.30. I should have a script ready for the 10 o'clock show by 9.
Hey, it's Andrea.
Oh, there has been no release. What are you wanting from me?
The thing is, you know, I'd love to be able to stand here as long as possible
to make sure that we don't miss anything.
Big concern right now is just this other show that we have to do at 10,
and at one point I call it Quit Standing Here
and start working on the package.
But if we leave, we're risking a lot.
I don't want to leave.
I told them that we're going to risk missing the shot that we need,
but they've processed that and said we're aware of the risks, get it done.
Okay, what am I going to do?
Before going to the truck to edit, Andrea checks with an INS official
to make sure that she won't miss the release.
It was a quick ride.
So I'm going to go in the van. Hopefully I'll be out by the time anything happens.
It's going to be a little while. We're waiting for it.
Do you think it's going to be like a half hour at least?
Oh, okay.
We have to just pray that the moment we've been waiting all night for
doesn't actually take place the moment we step inside the van and shut the doors.
E.I.! E.I.! E.I.! E.I.! E.I.! E.I.!
Back at the detention center, Andrea has finished editing her story,
and with no word yet on the Cuban's release, she heads back toward the crowd.
Is anyone here yet?
Just before the live shot, I scramble out. We don't have much time.
I can't tell what's happening. The scene looks the same to me.
What's going on right now?
I asked a photographer, have you been released yet? He said no.
There was no way I wanted to speculate.
So I went on the air with the only information that I had confirmed.
Julia, we are told we are now just moments away from the release of The Six.
Every time a car comes in, every time there is a movement, the crowd goes wild.
They are waiting for the moment The Six appear.
But blocked by a crowd, Andrea doesn't realize that the Cubans have just been released
and are standing only a few feet away from her live show.
I'm seeing on other stations being released.
Ten feet away from her is the biggest story of the night,
and I understand the huge crowds out there, but how can we not be getting that information?
We want to go to her now. I'm told it's happening now.
Doug calls the control room about the release.
Let's go to her.
But Andrea is already on the air and it's too late for her to confirm.
I go with the information that I have, and I'm not even panicked about,
oh my God, are they being released right now?
I'm assuming nothing has happened, that it hasn't changed in that exact moment.
But guess what? In that exact moment it had all changed.
The world had turned upside down.
For now, live in West Miami, data Andrea Brody, NBC 6.
The moment These Six do walk through the gate here, we'll be back with you.
What? Have they been released yet?
Where are they? Are they here?
They're inside a car. They have not been turned out yet.
I was still fighting even after they had seen it on the air.
It has not happened. I'm standing here. It has not happened.
How could my sources fail me? Impossible. I did not fail.
Sure enough, I did.
Damn phone.
The producer calls Andrea to find out exactly what went wrong.
That's a young guy right there.
That is not true. Seven has two freaking reporters out here, so don't give me that sh-t.
And certainly don't come down on my ear in the middle of a live shot.
Do not talk to me like that.
I'm going to come down in the middle of a live shot, Andrea, if we're on the air with misinformation.
That's my responsibility.
So help me out to give me information in my ear. I have no contact.
I'm not going to get you not just to report on the story, but to produce the-
It is a mob scene, Doug. You cannot imagine. I mean, maybe you can imagine, but it is a freaking mob scene.
I can appreciate the crowd that's out there, but I can't appreciate and understand how we're going on the Earth with misinformation. That's all.
Because, Doug, I am a mile- I might as well be a mile away from them.
The 10 feet doesn't help me when you are completely blocked from view of what is going on.
And I freaking told you that we were going to get burned if we had to do a package at 10. I told you that. I told you that.
All right, let me calm down. Let me calm down. Regardless, I am one person.
Take a minute and calm down.
Calm down.
All right, fine.
It is a mob scene out there. She might as well have been a mile away, but we're on the Earth with misinformation.
And that's what I'm trying to understand. And maybe there is no easy answer.
What he didn't understand is all night long, if someone were to so much as get off duty to go pick up McDonald's, the crowd went wild and cameras, you know, covered in on them.
Yeah, I got to write this. You know, so the crowd goes wild again. How do I know it's not a guy going to McDonald's versus the- and I'm not going to report that they're free.
I'm not going to do that. That's misinformation. That's a mistake.
It was disappointing because you always want to be aggressive. And I think they were being aggressive.
I just think that there was a couple of breakdowns in terms of planning. Not just out there, but in here as well. I mean, as a group, we all take responsibility for that.
Thank you. Nice job.
I think Paramount is a lesson that the experience taught me because next time I'm in a situation like that, I'll handle a different life.
In this business, you have to be able to take it. Otherwise, you won't ever make it.
Hey guys, very good job. First of all, real quick, very good job. That's what we got to do every time a story breaks.
This is one of the few careers that no matter how hard you work, it does not guarantee success.
But I think I'm a little unique in that my aspirations have never really been national news. I really wanted to end up home.
Good night.
I love this job. It's one of the best jobs in the world. But it's very hard to not be the news director 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I have to get ready tomorrow morning, about eight hours, unless something happens tonight. Good night.
Good night.