Breaking News Is Always Welcome
I looked at David and said, “That takes care of the biggest problem.”
David smiled. “What will you do now?”
“First, I need to bring in a reporter.”
“Do you know one?”
I thought of a journalist I’d run into by chance in New York.
“Yes. There’s someone perfect for it.”
* * *
The Wall Street Times.
This internet media outlet wasn’t exactly steeped in history. It had originally been launched as a business-focused publication, but it had never produced anything especially notable and was treated more like a tabloid than a serious paper.
Trish O’Connor, who worked there as a reporter, heard that there had been a traffic accident nearby, grabbed her camera, and rushed to the scene.
A police line was already in place, and firefighters were inside battling the blaze.
When she tried to go in, a police officer stopped her.
“Step back.”
Trish told him, “I’m a reporter.”
“Which outlet?”
“The Wall Street Times.”
“What kind of paper is that?”
“A real one. So let me in.”
“No.”
She clung to him as if begging, but the officer shook his head coldly.
“Seriously? They won’t even let me close enough to get a look.”
With no other choice, she shouted toward an insurance company employee standing inside.
“Trish O’Connor, reporter for the Wall Street Times! What caused the accident? I heard it was a minor crash, so why was the car completely burned out?”
The employee glanced at her, then turned away and walked off in another direction.
Thinking she’d have to interview whoever came out, she started taking photos from beyond the police line—when a beautiful woman in her twenties walked out with a cameraman.
What the hell? Why is she here?
Of all people, it was someone she didn’t want to run into.
Trish quickly turned away, but the other woman recognized her and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Trish! Small world. You here to cover this too?”
Trish gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“Yeah, something like that.”
The woman’s name was Vanessa Rose.
She’d gone to college with Trish and had once been her closest friend.
Once, anyway.
Vanessa now worked as a reporter for the New York Times.
Her father was the deputy mayor of New York, and her mother was a fashion model. Having inherited her mother’s looks, she’d been famous since her school days for her stunning appearance and sharp fashion sense.
After joining the paper, she’d made a name for herself as a gorgeous young reporter, and despite being a newcomer, she’d even been put in charge of hosting the New York Times YouTube channel.
Unlike Trish, who was still unknown, Vanessa was already riding a wave of success, publishing a few major exclusives and climbing quickly as a reporter.
Vanessa smiled brightly at her.
“You’re still working there? What was it called again? The Wall Street Times?”
Trish muttered to herself, None of your business where I work.
Whether she knew what Trish was thinking or not, Vanessa took her hand and shook it warmly.
“It’s so good to see you, girl. I thought you might come apply with us again. Any chance you’re interested?”
“Not really.”
After graduation, the two of them had applied to the New York Times together, but there had only been one opening, and Vanessa got it while Trish was turned away.
At first, that stung. But now, she was satisfied enough.
Most of all, she liked being able to cover the stories she wanted and write the articles she wanted.
“Wouldn’t it be better to work for a well-known outlet instead of some paper nobody’s heard of? That way your articles would be better and more people would read them.”
“You can write articles anywhere.”
“But it’s hard to land exclusives.”
“Well...”
That much was true, unfortunately.
“You haven’t covered it yet, have you? Mine will be up soon, so just use that. If you need photos, I can send them over.”
The first person to publish owns the story. If you’re even a second late, all you’re doing is retyping someone else’s work.
If I’m just taking someone else’s photos and writing around them, then what’s the point of being a reporter?
That thought crossed her mind just as she grew curious and asked, “But you cover car accidents too?”
As far as she knew, Vanessa was on the business desk.
Unlike internet outlets like hers, where the staff was small and everybody covered whatever came along, major papers like the New York Times usually kept reporters within their own beats.
“The vehicle involved was an electric car. Sounds like it was a battery issue. According to the driver, there was a popping sound, and smoke started rising from the floor.”
“Ah...”
As more vehicles switched over to electric, accidents like this were becoming more common too.
If the battery explosion turns out to be real, that could hit the electric-car companies’ stock prices hard.
Vanessa seemed to remember something and said, “Oh! I saw the article you wrote recently. The one about hydrogen energy.”
“You did?”
She had spent a lot of time researching the materials, staying up all night to write an analytical piece. Unfortunately, for all the effort she’d poured into it, it hadn’t attracted much attention.
Still, hearing that someone had read it made her feel a little better.
“You wrote that it would take more time before hydrogen cars were commercially viable, and that Thomas Motors seemed overvalued... Do you really think that?”
Trish nodded confidently.
“Yeah. Production keeps getting pushed back, and there’s nothing that’s been clearly verified about the technology yet. There are a few other things that look suspicious too.”
“Pfft!”
Vanessa burst out laughing.
Trish frowned slightly, feeling as if she was being mocked.
“What’s so funny?”
Still smiling, Vanessa asked, “No, it’s just completely different from what I found. So, those suspicious points you mentioned—did you uncover anything?”
Trish was caught off guard.
“W-well, I’m still working on that part.”
Sadly, she hadn’t managed to uncover anything. She’d sent Thomas Motors a few requests for comment, but no replies had come back.
Then again, if it were something that easy to expose, another outlet would have broken the story already.
“You should be careful.”
“About what?”
“You could get sued if you’re not.”
“...Huh?”
Vanessa spoke as if it were obvious that Trish should have known that already.
“You didn’t know? Thomas Motors is famous for suing outlets that publish articles picking at them without solid grounds. And if even one factual detail is off, they’ll go after the reporter personally with all kinds of lawsuits. If it turns into a civil suit, you could be looking at millions in damages.”
Trish was shocked.
“R-really?”
“Yeah. They’ve already sued a bunch of people.”
...
Hearing that, she suddenly grew anxious.
What if they actually sue me? I don’t even have money for a lawyer.
Seeing Trish’s expression, Vanessa laughed inwardly.
“If you’re worried, maybe you should delete the article now.”
“A real journalist doesn’t buckle under threats like that.”
Even if she was already buckling pretty hard.
“Suit yourself. If you’re writing about Thomas Motors, then I guess you’ll be covering PureCell Day too.”
“Huh?”
“There’s supposed to be an important announcement at this event.”
PureCell Day, Thomas Motors’ own event, was the most closely watched gathering in the hydrogen-energy and automotive sectors. That was why every outlet was paying attention.
“Works out nicely. We can go together. When are you leaving?”
“Ah, no, I’m...”
Seeing Trish’s face, Vanessa asked, “Wait, you didn’t get a press invitation?”
“Nope.”
As though she truly hadn’t realized it, Vanessa said, “Oh, no! Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You’re not upset, are you?”
She knows I’m upset and still asks if I’m upset? What’s that supposed to mean?
Is she doing this on purpose?
Vanessa smiled. “That’s a shame. It would’ve been nice to go together. I’ve got another assignment, so I should head out. Let’s grab coffee sometime.”
She made a point of climbing into the media vehicle waiting for her.
Once the car drove off, Trish scowled and shouted, “Damn it! Acting all high and mighty. What a pain in the ass!”
She’d been obnoxious in school, and now she was even worse. It was almost impressive how consistently unbearable she managed to be.
For a newcomer to already be getting assigned to cover PureCell Day, it looked like her paper was backing her pretty strongly.
“Tch. So she is doing well.”
It may have been treated like a rag by everyone else, but Trish had pride as a reporter.
Well, it’s not like you have to be at the scene to write a good article.
Steeling herself with the resolve to land an exclusive someday no matter what, Trish bought a slice of pizza and a cola from a nearby food truck and ate while standing.
In the middle of filling her stomach, her phone rang.
She took the call with a bite of pizza still in her mouth.
“This is Trish O’Connor, reporter for the Wall Street Times.”
[Hello. This is Han Miru. You remember me, right?]
Trish smiled at the familiar voice.
“Of course. Are things going well with Mr. Lockhart?”
[Yes. I’m in Silicon Valley right now.]
“Oh? So you’re in venture capital? I see now—you were an angel.”
From a founder’s perspective, an investor who puts money into a company when it’s still struggling in the early stages is practically an angel. That’s why they’re called angel investors.
Han Miru laughed.
[I’m not kind enough in my investments to deserve being called an angel.]
“So why are you calling? Are you asking me out on a date?”
[Would you accept if I did?]
“Only if you got my father’s permission first.”
[In that case, I’ll pass.]
“Tch. Way to ruin the moment.”
[I’ve got something better than a date.]
“And what’s that?”
[An exclusive.]
At that, her eyes flew open.
“An exclusive?”
[Yes. I remembered that you told me to let you know if I ever had one, so I’m calling.]
“Exclusives are always welcome. What is it?”
[I’ll send you an email right now. Check it and call me back.]
Trish immediately opened her inbox on her smartphone and checked the materials. To her surprise, it was a report on Thomas Motors.
She’d been scrolling through it casually with her finger when her shock became so great that she dropped onto the pavement and opened her laptop.
After carefully reading through everything, she called him back.
“Is this real?”
[Yes. If you looked at the attached materials, you’d know everything in there is true.]
Thomas Motors was currently the hottest company in the stock market.
Everyone believed it would lead the hydrogen-car revolution and become the next Tisla. And yet all of it was a lie!
I’d already been looking for this material, and now it just shows up and rolls right into my lap!
[Can you write the article?]
With the materials in hand, writing the article would be easy.
Trish replied carefully, “That’s not the hard part, but honestly, our outlet doesn’t have that much influence. It might just get buried.”
Articles that point out a company’s weaknesses or problems come out every day. But how many of them actually capture the public’s attention?
[That makes it even better.]
“Pardon?”
[Just post the article, and we’ll handle the publicity.]
“Really?”
[Yes. Whatever happens, you won’t be at a loss. Once this becomes an issue, then the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, even the Wall Street Times will all be copying your article.]
The world remembers only first place; no one remembers second. It was the same with news.
The first report gets cited everywhere else, but the second one gets ignored.
The WSJ and the NYT copying something I wrote?
It sounded like a dream.
Trish answered at once, “All right! I’ll write it right now. The Wall Street Times is going to run the exclusive, so don’t tell anyone else under any circumstances!”