Just like Amber Sherlock, Studio 10 host Sarah Harris is no stranger to navigating the territory that is having a behind-the-scenes outburst be broadcast to the world.
For Harris, is was during her time on Channel Nine’s Today, when she dropped the F-word three times during a live broadcast.
“I was reporting on a Gold Coast flood which was non-existent. I’d just come off working a huge couple of weeks where I was up at 3am, working until 10pm, just a busy time,” she told Mia Freedman on No Filter.
LISTEN: Sarah Harris recalls the time she swore on live TV on No Filter:
“I could hear myself on a three second delay in my earpiece and I have a very potty mouth, so I said to the cameraman ‘Mate, we’ve got to get this effing ear piece fixed, I can’t effing hear myself effing think’ and that went to air.”
Thankfully this was pre-internet, so Harris didn’t become a viral sensation, but suddenly her job became a topic of public conversation.
“I remember there were polls being run like ‘should Sarah lose her job?’ and Kylie and Jackie O were talking about it,” she said.
It’s an experience that has helped Harris understand the obsession that people have with taking an accidental on-air incident – like Sherlock ordering fellow journalist Julie Snook to put a jacket on moments before going to air – and turning it into a ‘catfight’.
"I just think the pile-on she’s copped since has been disproportionate to what she said. When it comes to women having a disagreement, people like to pitch in from the sides and say ‘Catfight! Catfight!’," Harris told Fitzy and Wippa this morning.
While both Amber and Julie have said there are "no hard feelings" over the incident, Harris said her own experience showed her there was perhaps a better way for Sherlock to "snuff out" public interest in the story.
"I wonder if she’d just said ‘I’m so sorry, I had a bad day, we’re great mates, I’ve taken Jules out and I’ve told her I’m sorry...'" Sarah said.
She said the most important thing to remember when you're working on a live broadcast is that "you're part of a team".
"You’re a cog in the wheel. A tiny part of the team."
Listen to the full episode of No Filter with Sarah Harris:
Top Comments
I can't believe this is such a big deal. Was she rude and over dramatic with her outburst? Sure. But we only saw that one little excerpt from that working day. Like it or not, presentation does count on tv. We also don't know if the people above her had given her heat about similar wardrobe stuff ups in the past, if Sherlock had been flakey all day with forgetting stuff and she got frustrated or other contributing stressors etc. we also don't know if after work she apologised. Again, it wasn't perfect behaviour, but a few minutes of someone's worse moments isn't an accurate portrait of what that person is normally like to work with.
Yes but I think the point is that most people would never behave like that to a colleague. Setting aside the issue that it's the wardrobe dept's role (not the host) to dictate what people wear and correct any issues, EVEN if the presenter had previously been slammed for wearing the same colours previously, she could always have gone changed her own top. Instead she behaved as if she was clearly well above having to change, and like the other woman was an extreme subordinate who should leap to attention the minute she clicked her fingers. I am a lawyer and I have worked with some incredibly slow and lazy assistants before (eg clear hierarchy) but I would NEVER speak to them that rudely. It's just unprofessional.
She is an anchor isn't she? So she had been on screen, wearing that top for the whole show that day. so no, she can't change her top. It's not about being 'above changing', it's about continuity. Again, that is a big thing on camera, whether we recognise it or not ( having friends who work in film and television, some behind the scene on news shows, I know this to be true). Also, she did give fair warning ( two hours) that a wardrobe adjustment was needed, and at that point yes, she did need to snap to it and change. They were about to go on air. They have a strict timeframe and you can't change while going live. I'm not saying her behaviour was ok, just the backlash disproportionate. You say you have never ever been snappy with anyone you have worked with, and I can only take your word for it. I have worked for bosses who have had the odd short, snappy moment. Normally these were and are good people to work with who bend over backwards for the people they work with. But sometimes stress, frustration and pressure can get to the best of us. In each case there was an apology and acknowledgement of how difficult the day was for everyone. No it wasn't the most professional behaviour, but the grilling she copped was outrageous and a couple minutes is not enough to judge her character as a whole. I know you have said you have never spoken so out of turn to anyone, but I am sure you have made some sort of unprofessional, cringeworthy faux pas that if it were made public to your peers and colleagues it would throw you in an unfairly bad light.