What’s important is your drive, energy, and passion, not your knowledge, skills or professionalism. That appears to be the motto that wannabe news reporter Rhoda Young lives by.
Rhoda became known far and wide on the internet for pretending to be a live news reporter on Facebook. In just under an hour, the hilarious woman solved a crime scene and got the perpetrator arrested by police officers. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s incredible: efficient, sassy and with an eye for details, Rhoda is what every investigative journalism reporter should aspire to be.
More info: Facebook
“Volunteer” reporter Rhoda Young live-streamed a house fire in Norfolk, Virginia, back in 2017
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
In the era of fake news and a lack of trust in the media, what the world needs now more than ever is people who are brave enough to shine some light on the truth. And that’s exactly what Rhoda aspired to do with just a smartphone camera and a knack for imitating real journalists (albeit in a funny manner), when she saw a house on fire in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2017.
Image credits: STATter911
The dramatic and sassy wannabe-journalist approached the house owner to ask him some questions
Image credits: STATter911
The woman had a penchant for dramatic reporting, opinionated comments and she refused to give up after receiving odd looks from some onlookers. In her live video, which in total lasted about 54 minutes, Rhoda can be heard dropping such legendary phrases as “this house fire is in full active duty right now”, refers to herself as a “volunteer” reporter and calls the flaming house a “bi***.”
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
But what’s most impressive is that Rhoda's crime investigation went as quickly as those on TV shows. She spotted the owner of the burning house, Donald William Stricker III, sitting nearby and drinking beer, and started talking to him. Rhoda addressed her Facebook audience by saying that he doesn’t know “how his house caught on fire.”
Rhoda noticed his hair and pants were burnt, which she thought was suspicious, and she started wondering who may have been to blame for the fire
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
However, Rhoda's spider-sense then started tingling. She thought something was off. The reporter drew attention to the fact that Donald’s hair and pants were damaged by the fire, and his face was burnt. She raised the theory that he may have been responsible for the incident. Donald wasn’t very willing to talk to her, because Rhoda was being a tad irritating and screaming accusations into his ear. When Donald tried to push her smartphone away, Rhoda replied with “don’t hit me baby, ‘cause I’ll fight back.”
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
Image credits: STATter911
The reporter’s suspicions were confirmed when police officers arrived to arrest the house owner
Image credits: STATter911
Later on, Rhoda heard from one of the neighbors that the man confessed to them that he started the fire. The reporter kept telling everyone about her theory that Donald’s to blame until police officers arrived to arrest him. Rhoda ended her stream by stating that she “did the best job” she could do. Donald later confessed in court that he did indeed start the fire. He lived in the house with his wife and three kids.
Image credits: STATter911
In 2017, there were a total of 36,600 arson offenses in the United States, according to Statista. Also, a report released by the US Fire Administration back in December 2001 notes that arson is “the leading cause of fires” and that “half of all arson arrests are juveniles”. It’s also written in the document that arson causes damage equal to 1.4 billion dollars in property loss. Taking into account the number of arson incidents in the US, it’s a wonderful thing we have people like Rhoda who help raise awareness and aid in catching the perps.
You can see excerpts from Rhoda’s awesome stream below
People loved Rhoda’s video
