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thinks this is good news.
    *   *   *
    Samantha can feel that she is being developed and knows that it is Ken Harper who believes in her. Harper runs all political coverage for UBS and has been putting Samantha on more political stories. Now he’s introduced her to the network morning viewers. He’s letting the UBS audience get to know her.
    Ken Harper reports directly to David Mueller. He’s more slick in appearance than Mueller. His hair is gelled and combed, his suit is pressed, and he makes an effort through the day to keep it all looking that way. He looks more like a PR guy. He has a constant busy energy that seems manic to people that don’t know him well, and a high voice that sounds strained even when he isn’t straining it.
    Harper had called a meeting with Samantha three months earlier, where he had said, “Samantha, I’m going to give you two pieces of advice.” He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to one side to make sure she understood he was about to deliver a gift. “Number one, it really is about hustling when you’re not on the air. Develop relationships. Politics gets a lot of coverage, so pick politics. Meet with senators, governors, political advisors, lobbyists, pollsters. You name it, take them out to coffee. Get to know them, and eventually you might get access to something worth putting on the air. Over time, those relationships will be important. You’re an attractive reporter at UBS. Most of those people I just mentioned are men. They’ll meet with you. They may not say much at first, but they’ll meet with you.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œNumber two, find a big story and stay on it. Dig in, be relentless, be the network’s expert on it and we’ll use you across the network.”
    This made sense but Samantha wasn’t sure how to put it into practice. “Do you have an example?”
    â€œYes. O. J. Simpson. Several anchors made their bones on that story. They were small fries, but all they did was eat, sleep, and breathe O. J. When a network covered O. J., they went to their expert reporter. And every network covered O. J. wall to wall. By the time that case was over, stars were born.”
    Samantha nodded. Again, it made sense, but not something she could get started on right off.
    â€œLook, O. J. was a once-in-a-generation sensation, but there are smaller events that resonate with mass viewership, and you need to be able to see which ones will do it. Look for the key elements. Celebrity, death, class warfare, social or racial injustice. When you see it, get on it. I’ll support you.”
    The last sentence was the one Samantha wanted to hear. The advice was terrific and she took it. Just as important was getting to the front of Ken’s mind and letting him know she was ready for more, but without pestering him and getting labeled a pain in the ass. Time to get out of bounds, she thought. He had a lot of people asking him for air time. “Ken, thank you. I appreciate the advice, and believe me, nobody in this building is going to outwork me.”
    â€œI believe you.”
    Samantha stood to go.
    Ken liked her more than he’d expected to. He also liked to have the last word in meetings and he had another observation to share anyway. “Samantha. One more, and this really is the last thing, then you can go.”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œI see a lot of lawyers make the jump to TV and most of them suck.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œNow, how you carry yourself on TV is more Mueller’s area. I’m editorial, but I’ll tell you why I think it is that most of these lawyers tend to suck.”
    She nodded.
    â€œLawyers are trained not to make mistakes. Especially a fancy lawyer like you from Davis Polk. You have to be perfect. You can’t embrace your mistakes and you certainly can’t laugh them off.”
    â€œThat’s true.”
    â€œBut here, that’s