Chapter 70. A Scoop is Always Welcome (1)

I looked at David and said,

"This solves the biggest problem."

David smiled and asked,

"What will you do now?"

"I need to find a journalist first."

"Do you know any journalists?"

I recalled a journalist I had met by chance in New York.

"Yes, I have just the right person."

* * *

The Wall Street Times.

This not-so-prestigious internet news outlet originally aimed to be an economic specialist publication. However, it failed to produce any significant articles and was treated like a tabloid among other media outlets.

Trish O'Connor, a journalist working for this outlet, heard that a traffic accident had occurred nearby and rushed to the scene with her camera.

The accident site was already cordoned off by police lines, and firefighters were working inside to extinguish the fire.

When Trish tried to enter, a police officer blocked her.

"Step back."

Trish said to the police officer,

"I'm a journalist."

"Where are you from?"

"The Wall Street Times."

"Is there such a place?"

"Yes, there is. Please let me in."

"No, you can't."

Despite her pleading, the police officer shook his head coldly.

"Well, I can't even get in."

Unable to do anything, she shouted to an insurance company employee inside.

"I'm Trish O'Connor from the Wall Street Times! What caused the accident? I heard it was a minor accident, so why did the car burn completely?"

The employee glanced at her and then walked away in the other direction.

Thinking she needed to interview someone coming out, she took photos outside the police line. Suddenly, a beautiful woman in her twenties walked out with a cameraman.

'What? Why is she here?'

She encountered someone she didn't want to see.

She quickly turned her head, but the other person recognized Trish and greeted her warmly.

"Hi, Trish! What a coincidence. Are you here for a report too?"

Trish awkwardly smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, something like that."

Her name was Vanessa Rose.

Trish's college classmate and once a close friend.

'Once, that is.'

Vanessa currently worked as a journalist for the New York Times.

Her father was a famous real estate tycoon in New York, and her mother was a fashion model. Inheriting her mother's beauty, she was known for her outstanding appearance and fashion sense since her school days.

After joining, she became famous as a beautiful journalist and even hosted the New York Times' YouTube channel despite being a newcomer.

Unlike Trish, who was still unknown, Vanessa had already achieved several scoops and was on the rise as a journalist.

Vanessa smiled at Trish.

"Are you still working there? What was the name of that place? The Wall Street Times, right?"

Trish muttered to herself.

'Let her do whatever she wants.'

Unaware of her thoughts, Vanessa grabbed her hand and shook it warmly.

"It's great to see you. I thought you'd reapply to our company. Have you considered it?"

"Not really."

After graduation, they both applied to the New York Times, but only Vanessa was accepted, and Trish was rejected.

At first, she was disappointed, but now she was quite satisfied. She enjoyed doing the reporting and writing the articles she wanted.

"Isn't it better to work for a famous media outlet rather than an unknown one? That way, you can write better articles, and more people will see them."

"I can write articles anywhere."

"But it's hard to get scoops, isn't it?"

"Well, that's true."

"Have you started reporting yet? I'll write the article first, and you can follow. If you need photos, I can send them to you."

The first person to write an article gets the credit. If you write it even a second later, you'll just be rewriting.

'There's no point in writing an article using someone else's photos.'

Thinking this, Trish asked curiously.

"By the way, are you reporting on traffic accidents too?"

As far as she knew, Vanessa was an economic reporter.

Unlike the small internet news outlet where anyone could report on anything, the New York Times usually only reported on their specific fields.

"The car involved in the accident is an electric vehicle, and it seems to be a battery issue. According to the driver, smoke started rising from the bottom with a loud bang."

"Oh..."

With the increasing number of electric vehicles, related accidents have also increased.

'If the battery explosion is true, it will affect the stock prices of electric vehicle companies.'

Vanessa seemed to have thought of something.

"Oh! I saw an article you wrote recently. It was about hydrogen energy."

"Really?"

She had worked hard on the research and analysis, staying up all night. Unfortunately, it didn't receive much attention despite her efforts.

Still, she felt a bit better knowing someone had read her article.

"You wrote that more time is needed for hydrogen cars to be commercialized and that Thomas Motors is overvalued... Do you really think so?"

Trish nodded confidently.

"Yes. The mass production schedule keeps being delayed, and there's no solid verification of the technology. There are also several questionable aspects."

"Ha ha!"

Vanessa burst out laughing.

Trish frowned, feeling slightly mocked.

"Why are you laughing?"

Vanessa, still smiling, asked,

"Isn't it completely different from what I investigated? Have you found any evidence to support your doubts?"

Trish was slightly flustered.

"I'm still investigating that part."

Unfortunately, she hadn't found any evidence. She had sent several inquiries to Thomas Motors, but received no response.

If it were easy to find, other media outlets would have already published articles.

"You should be careful."

"About what?"

"You might get sued."

"Huh?"

Vanessa said as if she knew something Trish didn't.

"Don't you know? Thomas Motors is famous for suing media outlets that write baseless articles. If there's even a slight factual error, they can sue the journalist personally. If you get sued, you might have to pay millions of dollars in damages."

Trish was shocked.

"Really?"

"Yes. Several people have already been sued."

"..."

Hearing this, she suddenly felt worried.

'What if I get sued? I don't even have the money for a lawyer.'

Seeing Trish's expression, Vanessa laughed to herself.

"If you're worried, it's better to delete the article now."

"I, a true journalist, won't be swayed by threats."

Although she was already shaken.

"Suit yourself. Since you're writing about Thomas Motors, you'll probably go to the PureCell Day event."

"Huh?"

"They say there will be an important announcement at this event."

The PureCell Day, hosted by Thomas Motors, is the most anticipated event in the hydrogen energy and automotive industries, attracting the attention of all media outlets.

"That's great. We can go together. When are you leaving?"

"No, I..."

Vanessa asked, seeing Trish's expression.

"Did you not receive a press invitation?"

"Um, yeah."

Vanessa said as if she really didn't know.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Did it upset you?"

"..."

Why is she asking if I'm upset when it's obvious?

'Is she deliberately trying to get under my skin?'

Vanessa laughed.

"That's a shame. It would have been nice to go together. I have to go now because I have more reporting to do. Let's grab coffee sometime."

She got into the waiting media vehicle, showing off.

As the car drove away, Trish frowned and shouted.

"Ugh! Showing off. What a pain!"

She was already annoying in school, and now she's even more annoying. It's amazing how consistently annoying she can be.

Even as a newcomer, she's already reporting on the PureCell Day event, which means the media outlet is giving her a lot of support.

"Tch! She's doing well, isn't she?"

Although the internet newspaper she works for is treated like a tabloid, she has pride as a journalist.

'Well, you don't have to be on the scene to write a good article.'

Trish reaffirmed her determination to break a scoop someday and bought a pizza and cola from a nearby food truck, eating it while standing. In the middle of eating, her phone rang.

She answered with a mouth full of pizza.

"I'm Trish O'Connor from the Wall Street Times."

[Hello, it's Han Miru. Do you remember me?]

"Of course. How's it going with Rockheart?"

[Yes, I'm in Silicon Valley now.]

"Wow, are you a venture capitalist? Now I see, you're an angel investor."

An angel investor, who provides money to struggling startups, is seen as a savior by entrepreneurs.

Han Miru laughed.

[Not exactly an angel investor, but thanks.]

"Anyway, what's up? Are you asking me out?"

[Would you accept if I did?]

"Only if you get my dad's permission."

[Then I'll pass.]

"Ha! Fine, then."

[It's better than a date.]

"What is it?"

[A scoop.]

Her eyes widened at the words.

"A scoop?"

[Yes. I remembered you said you'd let me know if there was a scoop, so I'm calling you.]

"A scoop is always welcome. What is it?"

[I'll send you an email. Check it and get back to me.]

Trish immediately opened her smartphone and checked the email. To her surprise, it was a report on Thomas Motors.

She quickly flipped through it with her fingers and was so shocked that she sat on the ground and opened her laptop.

After carefully reading the materials, she called back.

"Is this true?"

[Yes. If you read the attached documents, you'll see it's all true.]

Thomas Motors is currently the hottest company in the stock market.

Everyone believed it would be the next Tesla, the leader in hydrogen cars. But if all of this is a lie!

'I was already looking for this information, and now it's coming to me on its own!'

[Can you write an article about it?]

With the materials, writing an article is easy.

"That shouldn't be too hard, but our media outlet isn't very influential. It might get buried."

Articles criticizing companies are published daily, but how many actually catch the public's attention?

[That's even better.]

"Huh?"

[If you publish the article, we'll handle the publicity.]

"Really?"

[Yes. You won't lose anything. If it becomes an issue, the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times will rewrite the Wall Street Times' article.]

The world only remembers the first; no one remembers the second. The same goes for articles.

The first article is cited by other media, but the second is ignored.

'The WSJ and NYT will rewrite my article!'

It's a dream come true.

Trish immediately said,

"Okay! I'll write the article right away. The Wall Street Times will publish it exclusively, so don't tell anyone else!"