2News reporter didn't realize she was interviewing Utah Jazz player Jordan Clarkson
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — When out on the streets of Salt Lake City asking fans for reaction to the recent announcement by Vivint Arena and Utah Jazz that all home game will require proof of vaccination, who best to talk to than someone who goes to all of the games – like, ALL of the games.
That’s exactly what happened when 2New reporter Hayley Crombleholme went out to get reaction from Jazz fans Friday.
In the TV news business, we call it MOS – or “Man on the Street” interviews. This is video and sound from anyone out and about willing to stop and talk to a news crew with a camera and microphone pointed at them.
Updated health requirements from the arena include proof of full vaccination or a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours.
As expected, fans on social media reacted, but good TV requires video, so Crombleholme and photographer Randy Likness headed out to City Creek Center to get reaction for the afternoon newscasts.
Little did they know, they came across Utah Jazzman Jordan Clarkson. Random Salt Laker willing to talk about the team, right?
Well, yes.
The current NBA Sixth Man of the Year has talked about the team about multiple games – pregame, postgame, before practice, after practice. If anyone lives, drinks, eats, sleeps. Lives Utah Jazz, it was this guy.
So, we get to the interview.
Whenever reporters talk to people on camera, they ask for their first and last name – and to spell both. This helps them identify people afterwards, and makes sure the name in the lower third is spelled right. (That’s the graphic inserted over the video to let the viewer know who’s talking.)
Crombleholm and Likness found someone to give reaction to the Vivint Arena health requirements. The questions were fairly standard, given the nature of the story.
“If I could have you spell your first name and last name,” Hayley asked.
“Um, spell it?” he asked. “Jordan Clarkson. J-O-R-D-A-N C-L-A-R-K-S-O-N.”
As part of the interview, she asked, last year, “Did you go to any Jazz games.”
“Yeah, a lot,” he answered.
Crombleholme very soon realized what had just happened.
“Welp, pretty sure @rlikness and I just interviewed @JordanClarksons off the street without realizing it was Jordan Clarkson,” she tweeted. “Had him spell his name and everything.”
Within an hour, the video posted online had over 100,000 views. Another couple hours and there were around half a million views. As of a day later there were nearly 3 million views.
Those who saw it included Clarkson himself and fellow Jazzman Joe Ingles.
Clarkson responded to the video as it went viral.
"Just happy I spelled my name right," he joked.
