I wasn’t sure that any local news video in 2016 could possibly beat some of the wild shenanigans we got in 2015, but I can now confirm it’s officially happened. This week, Tulsa resident Michelle Dobyne explained how she learned her building was on fire in what might be the most over-the-top story we’ve ever heard. The only thing that could have possibly made the video better would be if she had saved a Totinos pizza. You can catch her hilarious recounting of the event, below.
Casa Linda Apartments interviewYou never know who you will run into covering the news of the day. News On 6 photojournalist Ethan Pierce met a lady named Michelle Dobyne this morning. Her description of a fire at the Casa Linda Apartments...is incredible.Posted by Charlie Hannema News On 6 on Sunday, January 10, 2016
Oklahoma News on 6’s Charlie Hannema released the video to social media this week, noting that the channel’s photojournalist Ethan Pierce actually captured the footage of Michelle Dobyne explaining how she managed to escape the fire at the Casa Linda Apartment complex. Apparently, Dobyne was just hanging out and cooking some food for her kiddos this week. She didn’t even realize the apartment was on fire until her friend informed her that it, in fact, was about to burn down. It seems like a pretty tame story, but add in a cold baby with no shoes and a woman who most certainly “didn’t want to be in no” fire and you have a very vivid storyteller.
Honestly, this woman is amusing when she talks, but one of the things I enjoy most about this video are her vivid facial expressions, which look a little like this:
Here's the thing: when people try to act over-the-top and outrageous on the local news, it always comes off as stupid and forced. It doesn't work to just shout and swear, but there are some people who are just eccentric personalities. When they're interviewed on the local news, that's what produces gold. Those are the moments that actually go viral because there's nothing fake about them. They're just honest reactions to extreme situations from human beings who are probably described frequently as "characters".
If you’re as big of a fan of local news videos as we are, you probably saw some real gems last year, including the dude who saved his children and his rack of ribs in the fire and the live broadcast that was interrupted by someone robbing a nearby bank. There were a lot of gems and luckily, they've all been compiled into one giant supercut. Check them out, here. And don't worry, if you've already watched more of those clips, the local news will produce a few more classics this month.
