cardboard_journalism | Inbox [cerealia]

"Sss, sss, sss.

You've reached the desk of Myriam Scuttlebutt.

If you're calling to submit a story to the Cerealia Times, please press 1.

If you're calling to inquire about employment with the Cerealia Times, please press 2.

If you're calling to make a complaint about a story in the Cerealia Times, you are free to hang up. Complaints will only be accepted as submitted letters to the editor, delivered in physical form.

If you're calling for any other reason, please leave a message after the beep."

[boop]

[if 1 is pressed]

"You've reached the extension for submitting a story to the Cerealia Times. Please describe your story after the beep. For reference, please include your name and contact information. You may also make your tip anonymously, or ask for anonymity. As a source, your anonymity is protected by law, and will not be revealed without your express permission.

Kahk-kahk... Keep in mind, you cannot be financially compensated for information you provide, for reason of journalistic ethics. ...no, really, journalists aren't supposed to do that."

[boop]

[if 2 is pressed]

"The Cerealia Times is in need of correspondents, reporters, photojournalists, and delivery personnel.

Correspondent: you are expected to respond to stories that break out in an assigned section of Cerealia, report the information at the scene, interview witnesses, and supply written stories. Mild literacy is required.

Reporters: you are expected to actively pursue assigned stories and conduct related interviews in a timely manner. Mild interpersonal skills a plus, but not essential. With approval, you will be free to investigate your own stories.

Photojournalists: you are expected to record newsworthy events on film. This may require taking shots under suboptimal conditions.

Delivery personnel: you are expected to transport, unload, and fold bundles of newspaper around Cerealia.

All of these jobs take long hours and are very demanding... but they're worth it. --Except for the delivery job, that's just busywork. Sss, sss!

Leave your contact information, desired post, and brief description of your experience, if any!"

[boop]

[action thread continuations can go here too!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

cardboard_journalism

Leia Rolando? Perfect!

This is Myriam Scuttlebutt, getting back to you. Sss, sss, sss.

You're a fellow journalist? It's a pleasure! A real pleasure! I want to get you on board with us right away. What do you think?

From:

journaler

["Us"... she wonders about that, but her excitement catches on.]

That's great! Like, really really great!

I've been living here in the city for about two months now, and I've always thought we could use a newspaper. I just knew I couldn't do it all by myself.

Where do you think our place of business should be?

From:

cardboard_journalism

[It could easily just be Scuttlebutt and her box at this point]

Glad to see we're on the same page, so to speak. Sss, sss, sss!

Hm, you mean like an official office? I think we can get by without it at this stage...

Okay, I'm gonna level with you. I haven't exactly gotten this 'officially' registered yet. A free press is the best press, I think we can both agree. However, this is my plan...

--wait, actually, can we meet in person? I'm not sure how much I trust these... device things, and whether or not they can be hacked. Kahk-kahk...

From:

journaler

[She's interested in hearing what Myriam has to say! So she interrupts herself, Leia takes a moment to react.]

Oh! Uh, sure. Just tell me where.

[It's not as if she knows what Myriam looks like anyway--not yet. The box should be a pleasant surprise.]

From:

cardboard_journalism

Hm... well... you probably know this place better than me. What's a nice place we could meet and go unnoticed?

From:

journaler

["Tell me where you are" is what she really meant, but she won't bother now. Leia thinks about it for a moment and then has an idea.]

My favorite cafe... it's probably not too crowded right now.

You'll have to take the train, but I can text you some directions.

From:

cardboard_journalism

Sss, sss, sss! Works for me! I'll head out right now, even.

From:

journaler

Okay! Then so will I.

[She readies her typing fingers! She doesn't give directions too often, but... it shouldn't be hard?] See you soon, Myriam!

From:

cardboard_journalism

Likewise!

[now she had to figure out these directions...]

[soon she'd be on her way to that cafe from her apartment. Perhaps she'd even arrive first...?]

From:

journaler

[Perhaps. Leia certainly doesn't think so however...

When she shows up at the cafe, she eyes the mysterious package that seems to be looming outside of it. It's just... kind of there? It's literally impossible to ignore, and even passersby have been sneaking a peek.

Leia will do the same, tilting her head as she leans in to get a better look.]

From:

cardboard_journalism

[Myriam was rather short, but it'd become obvious very quickly that the package had arms, legs, and presumably eyes gazing through the slat]

Sss, sss, sss.

[As if to remove all doubt, familiar hissing sounds of her breathing could also be heard]

From:

journaler

[Yep, that would be her........

Leia squints, and upon closer inspection, she can actually see her eyes.]

Myriam? What are you doing in there?

From:

cardboard_journalism

Oh... you must be Leia!

[the hat looked "news-y," which was a plus already in Scuttlebutt's book]

Pleased to meet you! Come on inside, let's discuss things.

From:

journaler

[For a moment, she considers how the staff might react, seeing a boxed person. Then she decides they've probably seen weirder things, and just kind of goes along with it.]

Sure thing. Er...

[She looks at the box, then the entrance to the cafe, considering their widths. Then she quickly grabs the door's handle, holding it open so she can get inside.]

From:

cardboard_journalism

... [somehow the actual math involved in spatial distances hadn't occurred to Scuttlebutt]

Er, thanks...

[she quickly scuttled in]

From:

journaler

[They might be getting a couple odd looks here or there, but otherwise slip in unnoticed. Leia guides her to a seat quickly--a spacious one with some room, and she looks around as if she's never been here before.

(She has.)]

So... [Is she going to wear that box the entire time...] What's this plan you mentioned?

From:

cardboard_journalism

[she took a seat, carefully]

It's... ambitious... but so am I.

I've got enough physical material ready to put together a newspaper... but not enough fodder to fill the actual columns with content. Puts a kibosh on the whole operation, doesn't it? Sss, sss, sss. No one wants to read a blank paper, no matter how nice the pages look.

So, I need stories. Lots of stories. Enough stories that, if I was going to do this all be myself, it'd take days to write out, even if I was working flat out, morning to night. --Especially since I just got here and hardly anyone knows me. I'm not exactly operating on home territory.

But, I can't wait too long either, or else I risk losing the impression that a newspaper existing here is "normal".

Given this, I intend to rush out a paper as soon as possible. People start reading, it gains some amount of followers, more contributors join, pretty soon it's on a level of popularity and regularity I can afford to start thinking about income. Start charging for classifieds, and such. Not much; I'm a journalist, not a businesswoman, but enough to keep it sustainable and make sure everyone involved gets compensated.

Then, voila! The Cerealia Times is strong, and it's a victory for the free press. Heck, maybe it'll encourage others, or at least get us more answers about what's going on from the CERES people.

What do you think?

From:

journaler

[Seeing the enthusiasm in someone else is heartwarming, and Leia definitely gets swept up in it. It's definitely the push she needs, even if her plan might not take off the way she intends.]

Well, I think we have the right mindset! I'm no businesswoman either... my boss always handled all that stuff. But I think if we work together, we could do it!

I've pulled all-nighters before...

It's been a while, but if you really want to set a hard deadline, I could do it again. I just need subject matter.

From:

cardboard_journalism

Excellent! I have as well. Sss, sss, sss.

Anything newsworthy! Reports on local businesses, events, the weather, details about people's lives before Cerealia... Something beyond what people already find out via the network. I hear what everyone really wants to know is if these "flamines" are real. Let's make finding that out our ultimate goal.

You know the standards of newsworthiness?

From:

journaler

[She takes mental note as Myriam rambles, palm reaching into her purse for her notebook. She'll pull it out slowly, but it won't keep her from answering that question.

Her boss only got on her case about that like, all the time.]

S-Sure I do. I've learned that you can't just write about any old thing you find interesting... you have to cater to an audience, and write objectively!

Local businesses for example would be really helpful for other people like us who are still trying to take off. We should be encouraging people to try out these businesses for themselves... and maybe include interviews with the owners and any customers they've had an impact on.

From:

cardboard_journalism

Objectivity is important. So is catering. Sss, sss, sss.

We can't focus too much on businesses... then we're just advertising them for free. They should be coming to us for that! People might get bored if we look at them uncritically. But, if it's framed like a review...

--Oh! You've got notes! Good. Write this down...

The standards of newsworthiness are:

Number One: if someone's hurt, injured, or dying from it, it gets a story. Huge story! Front page. "If it bleeds, it leads." Stark, but accurate. That kind of story always gets attention, and crimes should always be reported.

Number Two: if it impacts a large amount of people, it gets a story. "Large number of people trip over the same crack in the sidewalk," gets more attention than just one guy.

Number Three: if it's something about someone famous or in a position of power, it deserves a story. As far as I can tell, CERES is in control, right? If there's any info about their CEO, that's definitely newsworthy.

Number Four: timeliness! Ever heard the phrase "yesterday's news"? No one wants that.

Number Five: novelty, "things you find interesting" like you said. "Dog bites man," isn't newsworthy by itself, but "man then bites the dog back," is good for a blurb on page 14.

From:

journaler

[Leia's quick to take out her pen as well, tucked in her notebook's spine. There are a lot of doodles and notes from her time in Cerealia, but she quickly flips to a blank page and starts to jot down notes, just like Myriam wants.

Most of them seem pretty self-explanatory... but having a list to go back to certainly can't hurt!]

Wow... that all makes so much sense! So even though we want to be objective, we still need to be critical about certain things so that they're fresh and interesting...

[She taps her pen to her chin as she glances over everything she's written, nodding confidently.]

I think with enough legwork, we should have plenty for an issue really soon.