Kicking Back With Jersey Joe: The Great Cardboard Bear Re-Enactment
Have you ever come face to face with a bear? How about a cardboard one with a news reporter hiding behind? “This is what it might have looked like, if it wasn’t a cutout.”
I’ve never have personally run into a bear, but my grandmother did years ago on our patio. Fortunately, they’re usually scared of man and run away as that one did. Bears are quite common to those who live in the country, seeing one scurry through the backyard is no big deal. That is, unless you live in Woodmere, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
Woodmere, with a population of 828 residents, lies just outside the Cleveland metro area. Homes there are surrounded by woods and wildlife. This past summer, Tine Merrison spotted one of these furry beasts roaming through her backyard. In a panic, she dialed 911. Tina, was so frightened that she didn’t get a picture… but that didn’t stop a local news reporter from created a cardboard cutout and filing this amazing report:
Todd Meaney, is a general assignment reporter at WJW FOX 8 in Cleveland. Todd is a native of the area and according to the station’s website, has worked at a number of small stations in Ohio and West Virginia.
With the lack of video of the bear, Todd decided to improvise and do an incredible re-enactment, using the cardboard cutout.
The story earned “The Funniest Local News Report of 2009” on the Buzzfeed.com website. It was recently screened on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where it was turned into a rap video. It’s also had almost 900,000 views on Youtube. A television station would love to get news ratings like that!
If only more local news reporters would think out of the box like this. He turned boring b-roll of woods and a lack of photos into something watchable. It is sad that this story was actually in the show, as it certainly must have been a slow news day in Ohio.
He could have used bland shots of the yard and woods over and over again to tell the story, but Todd took it a step further and demonstrated what happened. Had you watched the news that night, there was no way you wouldn’t understand what went on. I’m not saying run out and do a cardboard re-enactment for all of the news when there’s no video… I really don’t need to see a pedestrian or motorcycle accident done this way, but let’s take a second to applaud this creative reporter for his out of the box thinking and giving us all some great television.
Bears can be a major issue to those living in cities. A mother bear will stop at nothing to protect her young. In New York, the local news chase them down with helicopters live on the air, while animal control tranquilizes them. One even made it all the way to the George Washington Bridge. City folk and bears, just don’t mix.
My biggest issue with the story… why did this crackpot dial 911 to report a bear in her yard? I’m sure the neighbor who was having a heart attack, or the bank being robbed, or the car wreck on Interstate 480 having to wait because she not only tied up the 911 lines, but also the local law enforcement officers with having to respond. Next time lady, when it’s not really an emergency, call the local police office number. The bear wasn’t attacking you or breaking into your home. Take 30 seconds and look it up in the white pages. Here, I already did: (440) 248-7585. Let’s take this as a lesson for all of us and only use 911 in a real emergency.
THE 411
THE GREAT CARDBOARD BEAR RE-ENACTMENT
What: local news story about a bear in the backyard of a Cleveland suburb
Originally aired: June 2009, FOX 8 News – Cleveland
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS: For a good laugh, pass this video along to your friends.