A CBC reporter in B.C. has been quickly kissed on the cheek by a young man while she was delivering a live news insert. Reporter Megan Batchelor says she was rattled by the brief incident and has made a complaint to the RCMP about it. The kiss — a phenomenon once known as a stolen kiss — occurred during the Squamish Music Festival north of Vancouver. Reports called it a “jarring distraction” Batchelor was doing a live hit for the network’s 6 p.m newscast when a man ran up from behind, kissed her on the cheek and took a selfie. The CBC quotes Batchelor as saying she was “rattled” by the encounter and felt like the unidentified man was trying to interfere with her ability to do her job. The CBC said in an emailed statement on Sunday that Friday’s incident is another example of a disturbing trend and the network will do everything it can to ensure its journalists are safe when reporting from the field. In May, City News reporter Shauna Hunt slapped down a much more vulgar form of interference from male bystanders and ultimately one man, an employee with the Ontario electrical utility Hydro One, was fired.
