Discrepancy Report this week received a redacted report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding the incident in which reporter Tori Yorgey was hit by an SUV on live television. The collision happened in Dunbar, West Virginia on Jan. 19.
When Yorgey was struck she was working as a multimedia journalist (MMJ) for WSAZ performing duties as a reporter and live camera operator alone during the 11 p.m. show.
The incident prompted calls for change, particularly to the practice of solo reporting/MMJ work, from the president of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as well as several current and former journalists.
OSHA’s report on the case relies solely on the account of WSAZ General Manager David Hughes and includes no mention of the agency interviewing Yorgey, the driver of the SUV, or any witnesses.
Hughes did not immediately respond to three emails and a voicemail seeking comment. WSAZ News Director Anna Baxter and Yorgey also did not immediately respond to multiple inquiries Discrepancy Report made since late January.
Yorgey was reporting on weather conditions and a water main break at the time she was hit. WSAZ, which is owned by Gray Television, aired a follow-up story the next day. In it, Yorgey explained that she was on the pavement of an apartment complex and not on the road when the collision happened.
“My boss took me to the hospital, and I did get checked out. Everything is OK,” she said. “I am good, little bit sore but nothing major and no broken bones!”
Leni Fortson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Labor Department, which OSHA is part of, told Discrepancy Report that WSAZ did not report the incident.
“Employers are only required to report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye loss,” she explained. “This was not required to be reported. … The incident was observed on television by OSHA staff, and an investigation opened as a result.”
Discrepancy Report filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on Feb. 4 asking OSHA for its entire report regarding the incident.
On Feb. 28, Joanna Hawkins, an OSHA spokesperson, said, “Information regarding the employer’s incident investigation and actions were received and reviewed as a result of the inquiry. No citations were issued.”
Hawkins would not say what information the agency received.
On Monday, OSHA sent Discrepancy Report a redacted copy of the agency’s report on the incident, with four of 22 pages in the PDF file blacked out along with personal identifying information on other pages.
An OSHA staff member said the four pages provided by WSAZ were redacted because of a FOIA exemption that protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.”
Using abbreviations and initials the first page of the report summarizes interactions between OSHA staff members and WSAZ. The only person OSHA mentions communicating with outside the agency is Hughes.
OSHA called and emailed him on Jan. 20 with a message saying in part:
This letter is to follow up the conversation we had on January 20, 2022 in reference to the employee injury that occuned on January 19, 2022 at your worksite. As we discussed, there are some important steps you should be taking to ensure the safety of your workers and avoid the need for an OSHA inspection.
In most cases, a serious injury indicates the presence of workplace hazards that threaten the health and safety of other workers. OSHA is very concerned that additional employees at your worksite are at risk of being injured. As we discussed, it is in everyone’s interest that you conduct a thorough investigation to determine the reasons for the work related incident, to identify hazards related to the incident and to implement corrective actions.
From OSHA letter to WSAZ, Jan. 20, 2022
The letter also told WSAZ to provide OSHA with written signed documentation of its findings as well as a signed “abatement certification documenting action taken to correct hazards related to the incident.”
“The incident was handled as a rapid response investigation, which does not always involve OSHA personnel going onsite,” Hawkins explained. “In this case, the response was received, reviewed, a follow-up discussion was had with the employer, and the matter was closed.”
When OSHA handles an incident using the rapid response investigation format, there would normally be no interviews of workers, she said.
“The discussions occur via telephone or email with company representatives, and the requested documentation is reviewed,” Hawkins told Discrepancy Report. “If the information received by OSHA indicates a violation of the OSH Act potentially exists, an onsite inspection may be initiated. All onsite inspections would include interviews of workers.”
Hughes sent OSHA an email on Feb. 4 saying in part:
The investigation has been completed. All reporters and other personnel have been reminded of the safety procedures for broadcasting from public roadways. Specifically, if standing off of the roadway, personnel should park their cars so as to shield themselves if a car leaves the roadway. Reflective vests must be worn when reporters are standing on the road. Based on our investigation, a reflective vest would not have prevented the car from striking the reporter given that the driver was going the wrong way down a one-way traffic lane and jumped a curb so that the car was completely off of the roadway.
Excerpt from email WSAZ General Manager David Hughes sent to OSHA on Feb. 4
In its report, OSHA says an updated response Hughes sent on Feb. 14 was deemed satisfactory. On Feb. 25 the case was closed.
The blacked-out pages appear to be hiding a more detailed response from WSAZ/Hughes.
OSHA Report on WSAZ Reporter Hit by SUV – redacted by jmdglss on Scribd
Rick McElhaney, deputy director of Kanawha County Metro 911, told Discrepancy Report no one called 911 to report the incident. Still, he said a dispatch recording revealed Dunbar police responded and that he heard officers suggest Yorgey turned down care from paramedics.
An administrative assistant for the Dunbar Police Department, however, said she could find no record of officers being involved in the incident.
Safety for journalists
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) says MMJs aka solo reporters currently make up about 12 percent of the staff members in an average local TV news department, and that MMJs (multimedia journalists) comprise the highest percentage of newly-hired TV news employees. By comparison, traditional TV news reporters, who work with a designated photographer instead of by themselves, make up about 7 percent of an average news department’s staff.
Discrepancy Report discovered the federal government doesn’t track data on injuries related to solo reporting in part because employers are not required to report many incidents and because databases used by regulators don’t include subcategories for solo reporting or even distinguish whether journalists are working in the field or not at the time of an injury.
OSHA has the authority to create new safety standards for workplaces.
But Hawkins said, “OSHA is not considering a rule or standard related to this issue at this time.”
She would not explain why.
“OSHA does not have standards specific for the journalism/media industry,” Kimberly Darby, another OSHA spokesperson, explained. “However, the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with all applicable OSHA standards. They must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious recognized hazards.”
OSHA does have specific standards for other industries including construction, agriculture, maritime, and more.
Mary Cavallaro, the chief broadcast officer for SAG-AFTRA, said the union represents thousands of broadcasters nationwide including TV reporters who work with photographers as well as MMJs.
“Over the past several years, we have received proposals from employers to expand the use of MMJs, and we have consistently responded that two-person crews are the safest and most efficient way to cover a story. We have also fought to keep certain protections in place for journalists who work as MMJs, including but not limited to prohibitions or limitations on solo live shots and the time of day or location of stories covered by MMJs,” Cavallaro told Discrepancy Report. “SAG-AFTRA would be very supportive of any agency examining safety-related issues for journalists, and we would welcome playing a meaningful role in the process in any way that we can. Addressing the critical issue of safety for journalists through legislation and public policy would be in keeping with SAG-AFTRA’s long-standing practice of advocating on behalf of our members in every possible forum.”
The Union Membership and Coverage Database estimates 6.7 percent of news analysts, reporters, and journalists are union members. That includes broadcast, print, and digital reporters.
Chris Post, an Emmy-winning photojournalist and media safety advisor with more than 20 years of experience in emergency services, said it’s time for OSHA and other agencies to update their regulations.
“They are supposed to work towards improving workforce safety. They need to look at the conditions that journalists are facing because they’ve changed,” Post explained. “I think that these regulatory agencies look at journalists and assume that all they do is sit behind a desk and do their work from a comfortable office. That’s not the case. That has never been the case.”
