When you send a reporter and a camera operator out for a live shoot, there's always the chance something could go wrong. Which is exactly what took place off the top of CTV's 6 PM news on Tuesday. Queen's Park reporter Colin D'Mello was teeing up his report, when a stranger suddenly came in from out of frame, stood behind him, held up a pamphlet and started screaming that he was a candidate for mayor and wanted to get his word out. 

He was clearly a fringe candidate whom no one has ever heard of. As D'Mello struggled mightily to finish his intro, he finally gave up, shrugged and said "Let's just go to the story.now." And then, still live, he turned to the intruder and said a sarcastic "Thank you," as his piece began. When he returned, the stranger was gone. 

All of this brings up the question: where was security during this? Did they have any? At one point, you see someone try to grab the guy, but he evades them and keeps shouting. I recall many reporters at the stations where I've worked going live, but to my amazement, this kind of thing rarely happens. 

Perhaps that's because a lot of the live elements come near accident or murder scenes and there are cops everywhere. But it's incredible to me that we don't see it more often.

(Although I do remember one memorable incident when Bell employees were picketing their employer and the union showed up at the last second, as a CTV reporter was doing a live hit. As the event unfolded, a worker walked back and forth behind him, carrying a sign reading "Bell unfair to employees." It was a live debrief so there was no tape to go to and it seemed to last forever. I'm sure that went over well in the control room and the board room!)