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Sinead Butler
Sep 29, 2022
News reporter uses condom to protect microphone from Hurricane Ian
NBC2
A Florida reporter left viewers confused as they noticed a condom was on a microphone during a live broadcast.
Hurricane Ian flooded communities and left 2.4 million homes and businesses in the state without power when it made landfall on Wednesday (September 28) reaching wind speeds of up to 241km/h (150mph).
Kyla Galer from NBC2 was covering the news about extreme weather conditions hitting the state and gave an update from a car park in Fort Myers.
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It didn't take long for eagle-eyed viewers to spot how the microphone was enclosed in the rubber, not exactly an everyday sight on a news channel.
\u201c@NBC2 is that a condom over the mic?? Lol you are really prepared #Florida #FortMyers #HurricaneIan\u201d— letuslive (@letuslive) 1664375901
\u201cNBC 2 practicing safe microphone reporting during hurricane Ian. \n#HurricaneIan #weather #News #FtMyers #Naples #storm #safe\u201d— Kyle Biddle (@Kyle Biddle) 1664373860
\u201cWTF? Reporter for @NBC2 in Southwest Florida uses a mic with a condom on it. #Hurricane #hurricaneian\u201d— Chris Nelson \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udfdd (@Chris Nelson \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udfdd) 1664383763
\u201c@NBCNewsNow really got this woman out here holding a mic wrapped in a condom up to her face\u201d— Pie Is Better Than Pudding (@Pie Is Better Than Pudding) 1664376524
Given the attention the added mic accessory received, Galer took to Instagram to explain the reason there was a condom covering her microphone - and it has to do with the conditions she was reporting in.
"A lot of people are asking what is on my microphone,” she said.
“It is what you think it is. It’s a condom. It helps protect the gear. You can’t get these mics wet. There’s a lot of wind and a lot of rain, so we gotta do what we gotta do and that is put a condom on the microphone."
It appears Galer is not alone in using this unusual mic protection method as her ABC7 colleague Jeff Butera posted a photo of his condom-covered mic.
"WE PRACTICE SAFE HURRICANE REPORTING.”
“Yes, it’s a condom,” he said.
\u201c** WE PRACTICE SAFE HURRICANE REPORTING ** \n\nYes, it's a condom.\nNothing better to waterproof a microphone.\n\nMy Waterman Broadcasting colleague @kylagaler has been fielding lots of questions, haha. \n\nMoment of levity in this nasty storm... \n#HurricaneIan\u201d— Jeff Butera (@Jeff Butera) 1664379011
"Nothing better to waterproof a microphone. My Waterman Broadcasting colleague @kylagaler has been fielding lots of questions, haha. Moment of levity in this nasty storm…#HurricaneIan," he added.
Who knew condoms could be so useful?
Elsewhere, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said he is "thankful" for Biden's help during this state of emergency.
"We all need to work together regardless of party lines, the Biden administration has approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration and did that very quickly so we're thankful for that."
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