After All Read Online Free PDF Page B

only to tear it apart again. Gritting her teeth,
determined to push away thoughts of him, Michelle doggedly forced
herself to focus on the words before her.
    “ Well, here she is. Lois
Lane, ace reporter.”Jennifer stood next to her desk, a smug look on
her face.
    Michelle glanced up only briefly. This
was the last thing she needed right now. She pulled the keyboard to
her and began tapping out a rough draft of a report.
    “ Working on the big story, I
suppose.”Jennifer had something to say and would not be
discouraged.
    Michelle pushed the keyboard
aside.”Okay, let's get this over with. What is it?”
    “ Nothing really. That is if
you think my getting two plum assignments Nathan was leaning
towards giving to somebody else nothing. I'll be covering the city
council meetings for awhile.”
    “ Big deal. Everybody is
happy to have that rotated.”
    “ And Weston,” Jennifer said,
pausing dramatically.”After discussing it with Nathan, of course,
he has decided that I'll be doing a regular feature on good news
type stories. We decided to call it `Beacons of Hope'.”
    “ What?”Michelle sprang from
her chair. “That story on the community center was supposed to be
only the first in a series! It was my idea.”
    “ There was quite a positive
response. Weston felt we should definitely go with it. And Jason
felt you had your hands full, especially with this Housing
Authority thing.”Jennifer waved her hand at the papers on
Michelle's desk.
    “ Where is Nathan? I have a
few things to say to him, and Jason, too.”
    “ I think they're both in
Jason's office. But you're wasting your time, dear,” Jennifer
called after her as Michelle stormed out.
    Without knocking, Michelle pushed
through the door to Jason's office. Michelle was so angry that she
stood seething for nearly thirty seconds unable to speak until they
noticed her.
    “ Not only didn't I hear you
knock, I don't remember telling you to come in.” Jason sat back in
his chair.
    “ What the hell is this about
Jennifer getting my feature?” Michelle managed to blurt
out.
    “ Mr. Lockport made the final
decision, but I suggested it. Problem?”Jason raised an
eyebrow.
    “ You know damn well that I
put in extra hours lining up interviews, tracking down sources for
that idea.”Michelle stood feet apart jabbing an accusing finger at
him.
    “ Jennifer has been doing
these little `feel good' pieces for awhile now. Besides, we decided
to throw in some public appeals to help people who need assistance.
We need to compete with Channel Seven's Madeline Mason with her
`We're on Your Side' segment. I figure the combination will give us
the edge. And viewers respond very well to Jennifer.”Jason wore a
superior smile.
    “ Oh, I get it. We're going
to have a battle of the blondes. Play it safe, right? After all,
minorities make up only twenty percent of the market share. I was
going to spotlight efforts by poor people to change things in their
communities. Jennifer is going spend her time hopping from society
club soiree to the next.”
    “ May I remind you that some
of our largest advertisers give very generously to many worthy
causes. Are you suggesting they don't deserve recognition?” Jason
said.
    “ They get plenty of press
now, and you know it. Most of the time when we have film from
places like Easy Town it's showing young Black men being led away
in handcuffs.” Michelle threw up both hands in a gesture of
frustration. “There is more to those neighborhoods than that. I
think we have a responsibility to show it.”
    “ Jennifer will spotlight the
minority community. In fact, she has a story on that
African-American sorority that contributes thousands every year to
the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation.” Jason shrugged and spread his
arms wide.
    “ Nathan, you know that's not
where I was coming from.” Michelle turned to him, dismissing
Jason.
    “ What can I say, Michelle. I
gave it a shot, but Weston thought his idea was stronger for the
station;