Private Politics (The Easy Part) by Emma Barry

Author:Emma Barry [Barry, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2014-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Liam could have stayed in bed curled up with Alyse. They could have explored some more of those scenarios that kept playing out in his head. Hell, they could have watched Millionaire Matchmaker reruns for all he cared—it would have been better than this.

He really should have worked harder to convince her that together, far, far away from work, was the ideal way to spend a day. Instead, he was mediating a major dispute and feeling more than ever like he didn’t have any business managing people or deciding what constituted journalism.

“Now, Doug, surely you think Sunitha has a point?” he asked, eyes shifting between the two angry people sitting on either side of him.

The other patrons in the coffee shop were subtly watching the exchange. If Liam didn’t get a lid on this thing and fast, some local gossip blog was going to have quite the story about staff tension at Poindexter. These days, he was on TV often enough to be recognizable. He really ought to start saying no to the appearances if only to avoid the attention while he and his employees were playing scenes like this one.

“I most certainly do not!” Doug snapped.

So much for today being easier or his luck having improved.

Sunitha shoved her hair out of her face and spoke rapidly. “We can’t just run everything the instant you want to—particularly before all the facts are in. Pesky things, facts. And here I thought you journalists were interested in them.”

“While you two were busy dithering—” Doug gestured at them and then at his laptop, “—three other blogs published the story.”

“Hey, how did I get involved in this?” Liam asked in a desperate bid for objectivity, which was impossible. “I’m moderating from the sidelines.”

“It’s your blog, isn’t it?” Doug asked.

“Yes and my reputation,” Liam said. “Rumor and conjecture aren’t enough to publish. B-roll of the guy’s apartment isn’t enough. New journalism isn’t supposed to be faster, it’s supposed to be better.”

“Exactly. If the cable news guys are doing it, it’s wrong. Almost by definition.” Sunitha rolled her eyes. Liam knew that in other moments, better moments, Doug agreed.

Doug would never admit it right now, however. He scowled and crossed his arms. At least he had stopped shouting. “It’s not either/or—it’s both/and,” he ground out. “We have to be faster and better.”

Blogging hadn’t been like this at the start. When Liam’d been writing Poindexter in college, he had hoped to provide analysis. He’d been concerned with process and reflection. He’d seen it as a place to correct and talk about how journalism worked rather than where journalism happened. Now, page views were king. He chased them as much as anyone else.

“When we publish it, we’ll know the story is solid,” Liam said. “Plus, we’ll do a companion piece about everyone else jumping the gun. Get screenshots of all this stuff. Evidence that everyone is calling this guy the suspect within hours of the shooting, before he’s been named by police or even confirmed to be the same Wilfred Smoot.

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