51: Chapter 51 Making a Big Announcement

Young Reporter Ji Qing returned to the station and immediately began organizing the footage he had recorded at the hospital without a moment's rest.

"Little Ji, have you finished recording that interview? Hurry up and put it together for me to see."

Upon hearing the voice, Ji Qing looked up and was momentarily stunned.

It was actually the Station Chief himself.

But how did the Station Chief know about this?

He had heard the news on the spur of the moment and had taken the equipment to the hospital; he hadn't reported it to the Station Chief before leaving.

Besides, there was no need to bother the Station Chief with something like this.

Ji Qing sensed something was off, but he could only reply, "Alright, Station Chief." He kept working and quickly put together a rough draft for the Station Chief to review.

The Station Chief watched it from beginning to end and nodded approvingly, "Not bad, not bad. This news story is very valuable. You did the right thing by going to the scene for an impromptu interview. I'll tell them to add a thousand yuan to your field allowance this month."

Hearing this, Ji Qing smiled, and he felt a weight lift off his chest.

He didn't care much about the amount of the subsidy. Having not long left his ivory tower, he hadn't forgotten his original intention—to create a big news story based on the three elements of journalism!

Therefore, as long as this news could be broadcast exactly as it was, he would be very satisfied.

"Station Chief, then I'll proceed with it like this?" Ji Qing asked.

At this moment, the Station Chief said, "Tsk, the content is still a bit lacking. You should also appear on camera to add a summary, elevating the theme of righteous bravery. This is a good thing for you; it'll give you some exposure. By the way, the first question of this interview isn't quite appropriate. Cut it out. Yes, just like that. You get back to work." After saying this, he patted Ji Qing's shoulder encouragingly.

Ji Qing had initially felt a warmth in his heart.

Because once this news was broadcast, it was destined to gain significant traction. The Station Chief asking him to appear on camera would help increase his professional credentials.

So he was quite grateful, thinking that the workplace wasn't as full of intrigue as the rumors suggested.

But when he heard the final part, he suddenly frowned.

No wonder the Station Chief had arrived so promptly and was being so agreeable, offering subsidies and screen time; it turned out this was what he was after.

It must have been General Manager Wu Jinkai who called him, asking him to delete the answer that was unfavorable to Jinkai Factory.

But to Ji Qing, it was precisely the first question that had elicited the most authentic response, and authenticity was the lifeblood of news. Cutting it out like this really didn't align with his professional ethics.

So he couldn't help but say, "Station Chief, I don't think the first question is inappropriate. It's exactly what the audience wants to know, and Hero Hu answered it quite well. If we air it, the ratings and share rate will definitely be very high."

The Station Chief sighed and said earnestly, "Little Ji, young people shouldn't be too eager for quick success. I know that if this is released, many people will watch it, but are they watching the news or a joke? As media professionals, we must always promote the positive energy that society needs; we cannot be solely driven by profit!"

Ji Qing insisted on arguing, "But I think this is positive energy..."

The Station Chief's expression suddenly changed, and he said without a hint of emotion, "Little Ji, I see you've been working hard all day. Leave the footage here; I'll have someone else finish it. You go home and rest first."

"Station Chief, this is the interview I recorded!" Ji Qing couldn't accept this and shouted out loud.

Unexpectedly, the Station Chief ignored him completely. His gaze swept over him as if he were invisible, and he called out to another staff member, "Little Li, Little Li, come over here and put a news segment together!"

The young man named Little Li had been pricking up his ears, listening to the commotion. He secretly mocked Ji Qing for being book-smart but foolish, not knowing how to grasp such a good opportunity, and actually daring to contradict the Station Chief. He was gloating.

Hearing the Station Chief call out, he quickly nodded and bowed, trotting over excitedly, and asked, pretending not to know, "Station Chief, which news segment? I'll get right on it!"

The Station Chief nodded at him with satisfaction, then looked at Ji Qing, "Little Ji, please move aside and make room for Little Li; he needs to work."

Ji Qing's face was livid. He slammed his hand on the table with a loud thwack, stood up, and left the station without saying a word.

Back at his place, the more Ji Qing thought about it, the more indignant he felt.

Why should the interview he recorded be handed over to someone else without his consent?

Why couldn't an authentic, unscripted, and unrehearsed interview be broadcast?

Fine, if you won't release it, I will!

Ji Qing opened his email.

Thanks to Team Leader Shen Ming's reminder, he had saved a copy of the complete footage to his email right away.

But after spending ten minutes downloading the footage, he had calmed down quite a bit.

He couldn't help but hesitate. "I am a reporter belonging to the station. Releasing footage recorded during work hours using the station's equipment without the station's permission seems to violate professional ethics, doesn't it?"

...

At the station.

Little Li was in charge of managing the station's new media accounts. However, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; without good material, the new media accounts had made no progress.

Therefore, he valued this hard-won opportunity highly and was displaying all the skills he had learned in his life in front of the Station Chief.

He operated the keyboard with flying hands, and the video on the monitor changed accordingly; it was clear his professional skills were quite proficient.

It didn't take long before a complete news segment was finished.

Moreover, he was very innovative. For example, regarding the first question asked in the interview—right after Ji Qing asked Hu Gualing if he was afraid—he cut out all of Hu Gualing's actual answer and spliced in a shot of Hu Gualing shaking his head, making it look like a denial.

Similar editing techniques were used throughout, and he made sure they were seamless.

Then, he went to the studio and recorded many positive energy voiceovers to intersperse within the interview.

When he showed it to the Station Chief, the latter was so satisfied that he praised it repeatedly.

The positive energy content of the finished video was even higher than he had originally expected!

"Little Li, not bad, very not bad," the Station Chief praised, then paused in thought, "It's just that this piece has a slight discrepancy with the real footage. If it's discovered, wouldn't that ruin our station's reputation?"

Little Li smiled obsequiously, "Where in this world is there anything absolutely real? Once we release this video, haven't we also molded a heroic and Fearless positive image for Hu Gualing? When the time comes, how could he bear to destroy his own image by saying it's fake?"

The Station Chief nodded thoughtfully, "But, even if Hu Gualing doesn't say anything, what if Little Ji lets it slip? I saw he seemed to have a bit of an attitude earlier."

"Don't worry, Station Chief! Once the video is released, I will destroy all the interview footage. Even if he says something, he needs evidence, right? Besides, even in the worst-case scenario, wouldn't everything be the fault of a temporary worker like me? It has nothing to do with the station, and you certainly wouldn't have known about it, right!"

The Station Chief laughed heartily, pointed at Little Li, and said, "Little Li, oh Little Li, not bad, truly not bad. How did I overlook such a promising talent like you before? Keep up the good work; you will definitely be able to handle things on your own in the future."

Having received this empty promise from the Station Chief, Little Li was happier than if he had received a year-end bonus. His mind became even more active, planning for the station's interests, "Station Chief, I just checked online. This matter regarding Hu Gualing has already become a huge buzz. Our station should have the first-hand material, but it's hard to say if other media outlets are rushing here. If we don't release it immediately, the traffic will be snatched up by them!"

The Station Chief nodded, "That makes sense. Then what do you think we should do?"

Little Li said, "Here's what I'm thinking: we only broadcast the news at night, and by then it will definitely be too late. But didn't you have me manage a short video account? Short videos are much more popular than television now. How about we post the news to the short video platform right now, and broadcast it as usual on the station at night? What do you think?"

The Station Chief thought for a moment.

The internet is developed now, and everyone has seen and heard so much; news that can pique people's interest is becoming increasingly rare. An act of righteous bravery of the intensity shown by Hu Gualing is truly a rare news event.

What's even rarer is that this happened locally. Their news segment would definitely be the fastest and most timely. If it were delayed because of the broadcast schedule, it would indeed be a great pity.

Thinking this, he immediately made the decision.

This news segment will be posted to the short video account immediately!

Having received permission, Little Li's excitement was even greater than the Station Chief's.

Because he managed the station's short video account, once this news was released, there was no way his contribution would be overlooked.

He opened the short video platform and logged into the station's account.

Looking at the personal video homepage, he couldn't help but frown.

He had racked his brains trying to build up this short video account, but failed.

It was okay at first, but later on, he was driven to distraction trying to post content at a high frequency every day.

Because he simply couldn't find that many news stories worth watching!

And ordinary news simply couldn't catch the audience's attention; there was no data and no traffic.

There was no other way. To gain followers, he had to spend all day looking for interesting videos on other users' accounts, such as— "I didn't think much of it at the time, just thought it was interesting so I filmed it," "I just filmed it randomly, posted it online later, and didn't expect it to suddenly go viral"...

With voiceovers like that, and just adding some random footage of cats and dogs, he could pass it off as a news segment.

Looking at the uniform collection of such videos on his personal homepage, Little Li himself felt nauseous.

But now, it was different.

The quality of the news segment he had in his hands would definitely become a headline once released!

Plus, with the first-to-publish bonus, gaining a million followers wouldn't just be a dream!

With excitement and trepidation, he dragged the interview video of Hu Gualing into the publish column...