Jim Hill rushed into the KCBS-Channel 2 studio in suit and tie and had Magic Johnson on the phone while other local TV crews were scrambling to do fan-on-the-street reactions. That was impressive but not unexpected.
Liz Habib’s voice cracked before she had to stop and wipe away tears, abandoning a KTTV-Channel 11 live standup. That felt appropriate.
ESPN and ABC continued to televise the NFL’s Pro Bowl in a simulcast, a meaningless exercise, while pushing its live coverage of events to ESPN2. That was beyond awkward, bordering on disrespectful.
Media outlets trying to disseminate what TMZ first reported Sunday morning as a helicopter crash in Calabasas that took five lives, including that of retired Lakers star Kobe Bryant, ignited the comprehension, disbelief and misinformation anxiety that often permeate the first 24 hours of a news cycle.
A police and fire news conference confirmed that a total of nine had died in the helicopter crash, but officials would not give out names. It was not appropriate until the families of the victims could be notified. Some media outlets continued to report inaccurate information — including some that were told former Laker Rick Fox was on board.
Soon, an ESPN-posted story by Adrian Wojnarowski, based on his NBA contacts, first included reports that Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was aboard, along with another player and parent. But how could that be verified?
Again, with L.A.-based TMZ first with this global-impact story, there remains a push by more traditional media to verify, verify, verify. It is much better to be second and correct with information rather than first and embarrassingly wrong, especially when the topic involves death.
L.A. mourns the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Which made reaction to the reports early in the news cycle all the more surreal. Not until a photograph circulated on social media of people kneeling in prayer at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks did the story truly become real.
Fast-moving stories like this can expose the strengths and weaknesses of newsgathering organizations. But amid the whirlwind, viewers can figure out which outlet may best serve their needs.
A CNN crew that included the quick perspective of columnists such as USA Today’s Christine Brennan, and later context provided by TNT’s Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, along with former NBC NBA and Olympic journalist Bob Costas and several on-the-scene reporters in Calabasas, carries huge weight for those who value fact-gathering and tempered responses.
With Matt Winer on NBATV along with former Lakers coach and Bryant teammate Brian Shaw next to him, cutting in and out of NBA games as they paid tribute to Bryant, it answered the question of whether games would be canceled, or would be played in his honor.
The Spectrum SportsNet crew of Chris McGee, James Worthy and Robert Horry brought Laker Nation together for comfort and reflection.
Until ESPN could calibrate how it wanted to collect itself and cover the story amid its family of platforms doing various live-event coverage, it used ESPN2 as its breaking-news outlet. ESPNEWS would have been a more logical choice, but wasn’t used.
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A Lakers fan sobs at a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans (from left) Alex Fultz, Eddy Rivas and Rene Alfaro gather with others near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Martin Yan, 35, of Diamond Bar stands beside of a mural depicting Kobe Bryant on Lebanon Street northeast of Staples Center. Fans are flocking to the area and having photos taken with the mural. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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The investigation continues Tuesday at the crash site in Calabasas where a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others crashed, killing all aboard. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The pilot was identified by colleagues as Ara Zobayan, 50, of Huntington Beach. (Bernadette McKeever)
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The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter (N72EX) that crashed in Calabasas. (Geraldine Petrovic / Polaris)
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A tribute to Kobe Bryant is projected on the Los Angeles Times building. (Los Angeles Times)
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A couple pay their respects at a memorial at home plate in honor of Orange Coast College head baseball coach John Altobelli, who perished with wife Keri, and daughter, Alyssa, in Sunday’s helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
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Uziel Colon takes a photo of his wife, Maria Home, and daughter Lena with a mural created to honor Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. The mural is by Art Gozukuchikyan on the side of VEM Exotic Rentals on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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People pay tribute to Kobe Bryant outside the gated community in Newport Coast where his family lives. (Don Leach / Los Angeles Times)
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Kinzo Beachem writes on the cement next to a makeshift memorial for former Lakers player Kobe Bryant at L.A. Live plaza in front of Staples Center. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather outside Staples Center in Los Angeles to mourn the death of Kobe Bryant after news spread that Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among the nine killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Emergency responders cover remains at the site of the helicopter crash that killed nine people including Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna on Sunday in Calabasas. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Christopher Pena, 33, and his wife Lizbeth, 30, of Pacoima, mourn with Jose Gutierrez, 33, of La Puente, near the site of the Calabasas helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Nancy Fernandez of Van Nuys lights a candle at a memorial for Kobe Bryant at De Anza Park in Calabasas on Sunday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans mourn near Staples Center after learning that Lakers great Kobe Bryant had died. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners huddle at L.A. Live, across from Staples Center, site of the home court of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman kneels at the makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A man kisses the ground as Lakers fans gather at a memorial to Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather around a makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant at L.A. Live on Sunday evening. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, and Swania Hogue, 48, both of Los Angeles, mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant at a vigil in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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A Lakers fan touches a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Mourners gather at the corner of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street in Calabasas near the site of the helicopter crash. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, lays flowers at a makeshift memorial during a vigil for Kobe Bryant in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans stand near a memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Naima Smith, 37, center, and other fans mourn the death of Kobe Bryant at a vigil in Leimert Park on Sunday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans stand near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center on Sunday after learning of his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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A screen at L.A. Live on Sunday displays an image of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant following his death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outside Staples Center after learning of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Bryant Hirshman is hugged by his father, Craig, and mother, Elena, near the helicopter crash site in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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People gather on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas near the site of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Amanda Gordon and her husband, Philip, mourn the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant near the site of a helicopter crash Calabasas that claimed the lives of the Lakers legend, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Jianing Zhang, right, and his girlfriend Cathy Xiao gather with others near the helicopter crash site in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Large Kobe Bryant memorial signs are illuminated at L.A. Live as fans Aldo Luna and his son Ethan of Pomona gather with others paying their respects outside Staples Center. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakers fans mourn the death of Kobe Bryant at a makeshift memorial. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans post sticky notes paying tribute to Kobe Bryant on a mural of the former NBA superstar outside Shoe Palace on Melrose Avenue in L.A. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather at a makeshift memorial outside Staples Center to mourn Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans gather outside Staples Center at a makeshift memorial to Kobe Bryant. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 and No. 24 Lakers jerseys hang in the rafters at Staples Center during preparations for the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
CBS broadcast the final round of the PGA Farmers Insurance Open and NBC had U.S. figure skating finals, but local affiliates were breaking in with news of the crash.
Whatever NFL contracts ABC/ESPN had to honor in this situation, the broadcasters came off as rather tone deaf as the company was trying to initiate its plan. It finally gave full coverage to Bristol, Conn.-based studio hosts Zubin Mehenti and Michael Eaves. An on-air interview with staff analyst and former NBA player Jay Williams showed the depth of its ability to help shape the narrative with real language.
It had Eaves, the onetime Fox Sports News reporter, bring a personal touch based on his professional relationship with Bryant. As Eaves would eventually admit in a series of tweets: “Covering the death of #Kobe today was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my 25+ years of broadcasting. I hated doing it but I was so glad I was there to be able to do it after having spent 10 years in LA watching him build his #NBA legacy from my courtside seat. It was such a gut punch to those who knew him, covered him and cheered for him.”
For so many L.A. viewers, Jim Hill became the go-to voice.
When Hill was able to give airtime to Johnson at midday Sunday, and for Johnson to admit that in a just world, it should be Bryant eulogizing him in a public setting instead of the other way around, was a chilling, bitter burst of reality for anyone who lived 25-plus years ago with the Johnson HIV announcement. Hill later had former Lakers great and team GM Jerry West, who orchestrated Bryant’s arrival in L.A. through the NBA draft and trade, and Lakers fan Jack Nicholson on the line for reaction.
Circling back to how Habib reacted — it came after a KTTV split screen showing aerial coverage of the Calabasas hillside with smoldering wreckage on one side and tape of an interview Habib did with Bryant recently that included a discussion about his daughters.
Habib tried to add more to that clip, but began to cry. She handed the microphone to Pablo Alsina, and the camera focused on him for several minutes to fill airtime. That was a human reaction on a day it was needed.
