He ain't heavy: who will save chopper reporter from chop?
It used to be newsreaders and weather girls who landed in the firing line if they gained a few kilos. These days even traffic reporters are subject to the dreaded pinch test.
For the past three years Alf Paranihi has enthusiastically boarded a chopper just before 6am each weekday to inform hundreds of thousands of Sunrise viewers on Channel Seven how to beat the traffic before hitting the road.
However, for the past few weeks his high-flying career has been in limbo after being told by his bosses he is too heavy to fly in the helicopter.
Paranihi's employer, Australian Traffic Network, has been trying to squeeze another reporter and camera into the chopper so it can produce another traffic report for Sunrise's arch rival, Nine's Today show.
The day Paranihi was told the news, he was understandably underwhelmed when it came to doing his live cross from the chopper. Concerned Sunrise executives caught wind of the situation and were equally unimpressed.
PS understands the extra body and equipment, combined with Paranihi's sturdy frame, meant the chopper would be overloaded.
On Monday a replacement for Paranihi, a much smaller female, was due to start doing the Sunrise crosses. Following an outcry within Sunrise executive ranks, she is yet to materialise and, for the time being, Paranihi remains in the cockpit.
Paranihi tells friends he has been losing weight, shedding 12 kilos since February, down to a trim 102.
