Covering the ugly sell-off

Mark Joyella of Mediaite talked Thursday with Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman about what it was like covering the drop in the stock market.

Joyella writes, “Fox Business anchor Liz Claman was working the phones – talking to Warren Buffett – when she looked up and saw the Dow heading down. ‘At that point we were down a couple of hundred points,’ Claman told Mediaite. ‘I rushed down to the New York Stock Exchange to find that all the traders were pretty concerned, but calm – saying it didn’t feel like panic selling. It was just an ugly, slow sell-off that went to the worst levels by the end of the session.’

“It made for a very long, very busy day for Claman, who reported live from the floor of the NYSE–not just for Fox Business, but also Fox News Channel–for hours of uninterrupted coverage. And she did it all, Claman told us, in some stylish but hardly foot-friendly shoes. ‘I was in these ridiculous Gucci gladiator heels charging around the trading floor. When I’m live on the floor, I always request a cameraman who will kick it with me…I refuse to stand there and just be tethered.’

“All those hours in ‘gladiator heels’ may take a toll this weekend, when Claman’s competing – and raising money for charity – in the New York City Triathlon. ‘I kept thinking, ‘Oy vey, there goes my running time for the Triathlon!’. Seriously, on days like this, the most important task at hand is to get the viewer the story as clearly and concisely as possible from the front row seat of the NYSE. As long as I cross the finish line Sunday I’ll be happy, Gucci shoes or not!'”

Read more here.