NBC News reporter Michelle Kosinski wanted to dramatize the flooding in New Jersey brought about by seemingly never-ending rains, so she climbed into a canoe and rowed down a city street in Wayne, N.J.

And then a couple of guys in hip-waders walked between Kosinski and the camera -- and revealed that the water was only a few inches deep.

You can see video here.

This is bad journalism plain and simple. It's dishonest. It's inaccurate. Viewers are owed an apology at the very least, and Kosinski should get a severe reprimand. But that's not what NBC is doing.

Later, an NBC News spokeswoman explained that Kosinski had been riding in deeper water near an overflowing river down the street, but there were concerns that the current was too strong for her.

"It's not like we were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't," spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said.

Yes, you were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't and the only reason you were unsuccessful -- and made to look like fools on top of it -- was because two random guys walked through your shot.

Add Lauren Kapp to the list of people at NBC News that need a talking to.