Getting through a morning show can be tough enough, with early call times and long hours spent on air.
But on Thursday morning for the WGN Chicago crew, it was nearly impossible. At 5:40 a.m., the station lost power and had no audio or video for 45 minutes.
The team headed to the newsroom where they found one operating camera—but without access to any video and audio from their news segments, they couldn’t do a news broadcast. So they played a live game of Pictionary instead. Really.
We’re just keeping the train on the tracks, folks. #wgnmeltdown pic.twitter.com/8t6QN6ZnNn
— WGNMorningNews (@WGNMorningNews) August 20, 2020
Soon, #WGNMeltdown was trending on Twitter.
“To be honest, this looks like a bad karaoke night where one of y’all decided to sing ‘Don’t You Want Me’ by Human League,” said an affiliate producer in Kansas.
.@WGNMorningNews To be honest, this looks like a bad karaoke night where one of y’all decided to sing “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League. @LarryPotash @WGNRobin #wgnmeltdown #amnewsers pic.twitter.com/rUkrMPv1RW
— Troy Diggs (@amnewsboy) August 20, 2020
Just before 6:20 a.m. the show was up and running again.