WLUV Box Set: Ignited, Consumed, Burned Read Online Free PDF

newsroom. She had the feeling
Bernie had her figured out. It made her smile a bit, being with an old-time
news guy. Too few of them had survived the last few decades of consolidation
and layoffs. If she couldn’t fix WLUV, Macy realized, Bernie may be forced to
retire. The thought motivated her to give this station everything she could.
    “Virtue to the Glass Cube, Shelby Virtue to the Glass Cube,”
Bernie announced as if he were paging a doctor to an ER. Apparently “The Glass
Cube” was what they called the news director office, which made sense. It was
an office, in that there were walls, but since they were glass, it wasn’t
exactly private. Everyone knew when you were in the Glass Cube and even with
the door closed, facial expressions and gestures could give away whether
someone was being promoted or reamed out.
    Macy was about to make Shelby Virtue’s day.
    “Hi, Miss Green.” Macy shook hands with the tiny little
thing. She was a brunette, five feet, and change. Macy wasn’t sure if she was
just getting old or if all recent college graduates looked that young.
Certainly they weren’t all as adorable as curvy little Shelby Virtue.
    “First of all, you’re off the assignment desk.” Macy let the
news settle in on Shelby for a second and watched the girl start to tear up.
Crying at work was a rookie thing. Macy may have cried a time or two when she
was covering a tragic story, but not in the newsroom. No way.
    “Second. Don’t cry at work.” Macy handed the girl a tissue.
    “Third. I saw your YouTube resume. You were trying to get a
reporter job. Why did you settle for assignment editor here?”
    “I just wanted to get in somewhere. My college professor
said I could work my way in. And Mr. Walters said maybe I could fill in on the
air. It’s been six months, though, and so far nothing.”
    “I liked your YouTube resume. You’re gorgeous, and somewhere
in that girlish voice and college wardrobe there’s potential...but you’re going
to need a lot of polish and some real experience.”
    Shelby seemed to get even smaller, somehow, as she waited
for the other shoe to drop. Macy continued, “Tomorrow you’re moving to junior
reporter here. You’re going to get the worst assignments, like snow storms,
county fairs, and car accidents. But if you’re here to learn how to be a
journalist, I’m giving you the chance. If you’re here to learn how to host Entertainment
Tonight , you can leave. What do you think?”
    “I think I could cry with happiness—” the young thing
straightened up, “But I don’t cry in the newsroom.”
    Macy smiled. The kid was a knockout, had a 4-point from the University
of Michigan, and she was obviously coachable. Giving her a chance was another
good change. “All right, day shift tomorrow. Be prepared to be on the air. That
means coat and gloves that look halfway decent. Do you have that?”
    “Black dress coat, pink scarf, black gloves?” Shelby
offered.
    “Black coat with dark hair… not perfect, we need contrast.
But it works for now. And wear something warm underneath. As a reporter, you
have to look good, but you’re going to be in the elements or at a crime scene
or who knows where.”
    “Got it. And thank you.”
    “Ok. Go home.” Macy shifted her attention from the young
woman. Television people needed attention, withholding it was a fantastic
motivator. Time to see if this adorable little Shelby had any grit.
    Shelby left and Macy made the rounds meeting the evening
crews. She’d be working day and night to get them all on the same page, but the
first few days were about learning their names, their strengths, and
weaknesses. Here in Western Michigan, viewers liked ‘
    \97live and they liked not too sexy, something she’d have to
address, she thought, as she eyed the outfits of one or two of the younger
on-air staffers. As the week moved forward she’d work to give the newsroom
focus and priorities. Viewers flocked to the best weather coverage