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It was no wonder I was a little hesitant to rock the boat now.
I swallowed nervously. “When is the decision going to be made? Can I do anything to convince Mr. Hoffman I’m the right choice?”
Caroline beamed at me. “Here’s the exciting part: there’s going to be a competition between you and Dawn. The winner will be taking over Mindy’s position.”
My nose crunched in confusion. “Competition?”
“You’re each getting a long-term assignment with full creative control. You’ll each have to develop a print piece and an online campaign dedicated to your subject to highlight a two-block slot during prime-time TV. It’ll be a ton of exposure, so I hope you’re ready.”
“Wow.” I was stunned. “That’s huge. What are the timelines? What resources am I going to have?”
She pursed her lips in thought. “We haven’t ironed out all the details yet. We’re being very careful to make sure neither of you gets an unfair advantage. The budget, resources, and timelines will all be identical. Right now, we’re thinking of four months to get the project completed. You’ll only have the bare minimum of help, maybe a limited amount of hours with a camera operator, editor, and photographer each, because we want to see what you can do on your own.”
Was I ready for this kind of pressure? This was a gigantic project. I’d done all of it in pieces for various projects, but never put it all together in one cohesive package. “What’s the subject I’ll be reporting on?”
Caroline grimaced. “Jack picked the subjects for each of you. He has a file of hundreds of story pitches that he’s kept sitting on the back burner. He pulled out two that he felt were intriguing and topical.”
“Why are you wincing like that?’
A puff of air escaped her lips. “Well, personally, I’m not a fan of either topic. And I think Dawn has a slight advantage with her material. But, I think it all depends on what story angle you choose. In my estimation, that will determine who wins.”
“Okay.” I nodded in agreement.
“I won’t be giving out any advice, so don’t ask. And, just so you’re aware, Jack and I will be 100% neutral in choosing the winner. It will be based on the better story, the better presentation, the better reception by the audience, and the bigger buzz. Personal relationships will not come into play.”
“Understood. So, what are the assignments?”
She rapped twice on her desk with her knuckles. “Jack assigned Dawn to ‘black sheep royals’. You know how well royals always resonate with our audience.”
My mind started creating hundreds of different creative story angles about royals. Shit, that was a good topic. “Hmm.”
“You’re doing a story about a haunted rock band.” Her face was blank even after she dropped that dud on me.
I inhaled slowly. “What? Could you repeat that?”
She reached into her desk drawer, pulled out a file folder, and handed it to me. “It’s all in there. The pitch that Jack’s been holding onto. It’s not much to work with, so you’ll have to spin some magic. Have you heard of Ghost Parker?”
I thought for a moment. “Yeah. They sing that huge hit song ‘Okay Babe’.”
“Oh right,” she replied. Then she started singing in a high-pitched voice, “Baby, baby, baby, oh, like, baby, baby, baby, oh...”
“No.” I stopped her. “That’s Justin Bieber. From a hundred years ago. When he was like 12 years old.”
She shrugged. “Oh. I don’t keep up with rock bands.”
Clearly.
So, what did I know about Ghost Parker? I wracked my brain. They were pretty popular right now. They had that crazy hit song that had finally died down a bit. Thankfully. And they were the epitome of every rock band cliche: trashing hotel rooms, substance abuse, womanizing, and of course, egotistical, insensitive, and immature young male behavior. There was nothing special about them.
What a turd of an assignment.
“You’re going to have to dig deep on this one. Dig up some skeletons in their closets and use them ruthlessly. The band isn’t forthcoming about this haunting rumor, so you’re going to have to be sly about it. Anything goes as long as you walk close to the line but stay on the legal side of it. We both know that Dawn is a complete pit bull, so you can’t hold back, Remi. If you don’t unearth something scandalous, you’re toast in this competition.”
We spent the next 20 minutes going over the particulars of my assignment. Even after I read through the preliminary research that had come with the original story pitch, I felt no better about it. Would this once-in-a-lifetime chance for major exposure in the entertainment journalism world turn into a giant flop in front of millions on national TV?
Ugh. I couldn’t give up before I’d even begun. There had to be a way to turn this thing around. It was time to kick some ass.
