Glossophobia

It's good to know that the fear of public speaking has a name, especially since it ranks right up there with the fear of death for most people. I'm not sure how speaking at someone's funeral stacks up as a function of this, but I do understand how frightening it can be to stand in front of a group of people with something to say. What if it doesn't come out right? What if I'm misunderstood? What if it doesn't come out at all?
Imagine how terrifying it must have been for Serene Branson, KCBS television reporter who was standing outside the Grammys, ready to report on all the festivities going on inside, and the words just didn't come out. Sounds, yes, syllables, but not a light piece of entertainment news to put us all at ease. At first the fear was that she had suffered a stroke on live TV. Now the diagnosis is that she was having a very particular kind of migraine headache. As yet, no one has come forward to suggest that she was speaking in tongues because she was possessed by demons that were congregating outside the Staples Center, possibly on their way to Ozzy Osbourne's house.
All of which makes me wonder why no one has checked out any of the footage from Fox News lately. They've got all kinds of crazy jabbering going on over there twenty-four/seven and nobody seems to mind. I guess in this case the fear of public speaking lies squarely on the listener.