An Eye for News Chapter 14
“You’re
a reporter from County S Tv Station? With your impressive physical skills, I
thought you’re with the police.”
Lee Wei
was pleasantly surprised.
She
never in a million year would have guessed it was a fellow reporter that saved
her life.
“Right,
no wonder I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere. We saw you down at the entrance”
Jiang
Shao, the cameraman piped up.
Since
the cameraman was used to dealing with people’s face, they had almost
photographic memory when it comes to recognizing faces.
Se Cai
was an ordinary face among the crowd, the fact that Jiang Shao could remember him
meant that he was either an extremely talented or experienced cameraperson.
“Reporter
Se is definitely something else. He not only saved you from w.a.n.g Da Fa, he also
managed to dismantle the bomb. It’s thanks to his diligence and bravery that
all of us are safe. In fact, I have half a mind to steal him from the Tv
station to join the police bureau.”
A crisp
and joyful voice entered the room. It was Xie Wu.
Now that Se Cai had saved his life, his
treatment of him had a 180 degree change. Previously, Xie Wu wouldn’t give Se
Cai the time of day but now he was all smiles and praises.
Compared
to the situation on the roof, this was Xie Wu in his elements. Reading social
cues, forming beneficial rapport and having an eye for talent, these were how
he found himself to be the Politics and Legislative Commissioner.
“Again,
Commissioner Xie, you’re being too kind. If not for Commissioner Xie’s great
handle over the situation, w.a.n.g Da Fa wouldn’t be taken down so easily. I’m
sure any other trained policeman could do a better job than I did.”
Se Cai
exchanged politely.
He wondered
whether Xie Wu was serious about his offer. He would have jumped at the offer
if it had happened a few days earlier.
The
police bureau was part of the government module. It paid better than Se Cai’s
temp job at the tv station and had better job security. However, after gaining
the Eye for News system, Se Cai had barely a shred of interest in the offer.
He had
the system now, why would he want to be in law enforcement?
Xie Wu
walked to his table with a commanding presence.
He
began apologetically, “Reporter Xiao, I’m sorry for putting you in such
compromising situation. The fault lies in my mishandling of my men, hopefully
you’ll be gracious enough to forgive me.”
“There’s
no need for apology… It’s my fault as well for not listening to your advice.”
Lee Wei
shivered involuntarily when she thought back to how close she was to death.
Furthermore,
it was due to her being taken hostage that had spurred Gao Song to make a
necessary appearance which then had thrown everyone’s lives into danger.
“It’s
no one’s fault because none of us could have predicted w.a.n.g Da Fa’s deranged
mental state.”
Xie Wu concluded
diplomatically.
All he
had been doing after entering the room was test the waters. He knew he had
failed to command the situation on the rooftop but such details could be
changed or omitted depending on the news’ reporting angle.
After
his exchanges with both Se Cai and Lee Wei, he knew the final news would be
favorable. Both parties understood each other’s needs implicitly and certain
things didn’t need to be said out loud.
He then
took from his breast pocket 2 gilded name cards and presented them sincerely to
Se Cai and Lee Wei. He said earnestly, “I am indebted to both reporters today.
Please accept my grat.i.tude.”
“This
is too much, Commissioner Xie. We’re only doing our job.”
Se Cai
accepted the card and said hurriedly. It was only a piece of paper, but it felt
exceptionally weighty in Se Cai’s hand.
After
all, the commissioner didn’t just give out his name card to anyone. Coupled
with his words, this meant that the commissioner was saying he owed them a
favor!
A favor
from the county commissioner! That certainly didn’t come easy.
Lee Wei
accepted the card as well but she didn’t seem to be affected by it much. She
probably wouldn’t need Xie Wu’s favor since she was from the province news
team,
She
then gave Se Cai a deep bow, adding, “Brother Se, no matter you’re a reporter
or a policeman, the fact is you’ve saved my life and I wonder how I’ll ever
repay that.”
“Well,
if Sister Xiao doesn’t mind, could you add my name to the bylines when you
finish the news?”
Se Cai
replied half-jokingly.
“Of
course, even if you didn’t ask, I already meant to do so. After all, I still
need the photos and videos from your camera.”
Lee Wei
nodded, “I’ll come see you at County S Tv Station tomorrow. So please wait for
me.”
Se Cai
was delighted that Lee Wei had agreed so easily.
Having
one’s name on the bylines signifies one’s ownership over the piece of news. If there
are multiple contributors, the names are arranged from front to back, decreasing
in contribution.
If the
news had Se Cai’s name, it meant that Se Cai had partial ownership. Province X
Tv Station had to pay him writer’s remuneration.
Of
course the thing Se Cai was really eyeing for was the News Point.
would be ginormous. Having his name and pictures attached to it would ensure a
great increase in News Point!
“Our
program will be on tonight so I have to rush back to prepare the script. If
Commissioner Xie doesn’t mind, could I ask for a transport?”
That
reminded Se Cai of his own show. He left the newsroom before noon and it was
almost 3.
enough time to collect the video material and write his script.
Unlike
Lee Wei who can focus on her script writing because she had a whole team to
support her, Se Cai had to handle both the writing and broadcasting ends of his
news.
One of
the key elements in news is timeliness. No matter how big your news is, no one
will be interested in yesterday’s news.
Reporters
have to make sure that their news is updated and fresh. This meant that for
reporters from small stations like Se Cai’s, they had to crunch up their script
and complete the news reel all before the broadcast.
“No problem,
I’ll get my driver to send you both.”
Xie Wu
offered as he noticed the sweat breaking on Se Cai’s face.