Chapter 39 Chapter One

After Mizushima Machiko struggled to get up from the bed, she felt a little fever.But she didn't find out the temperature to measure her body temperature, and she didn't go to the doctor to prescribe medicine. Instead, she went to the official residence of the head of the county criminal police department and others early in the morning to interview, and then rushed to the reporter room of the county police station building to write about the traffic accident. manuscript.After a so-so lunch, he drove to Takami City in the south of the prefecture to inquire about the news at the scene of a murder case, met with three young reporters who had been here earlier to summarize the situation, and finally attended a press conference held by the city police station , It was already past 6 pm when I came out.

After exiting the gate of the city police station, Machiko immediately took out her mobile phone, and while walking towards the parking lot, she dialed the number of the "County News" reporter station in the reporter room of the county police station building. "Hello! County citizen!" What Machiko heard was the boring voice of her immediate boss, Director of the Reporting Department Higashida. "I'm Mizushima. The press conference is over." Machiko talked to Higashida and slipped her thin body tightly wrapped in a beige pantsuit into the car. "Thank you, is there anything new?" Dongtian asked impatiently.

"Nothing new." Machiko said subconsciously flipping through the notebook.What is recorded in the record book has no news value, and there is no need to read it.How much police force has been invested since the murder, how many homes have been visited, how many calls have been received to provide clues... As usual, there are almost no questions about the reporter. With the presence of reporters from other newspapers, No one would leak the news materials they have in their possession like a fool.Win or lose depends on the street interview tonight. Dongtian knew that the press conference would not have much content, so he immediately changed the subject: "Is there any gain from the street interview?"

"I didn't gain much. Only Yazaki asked a little bit, but I don't know if it's worth writing..." This time Machiko looked at the specific content recorded in the notebook.On the day of the murder, about 500 meters away from the home of the murdered housewife, a speeding black car had no time to turn the steering wheel when turning a corner, and the left side of the car body hit the signpost of the roadside restaurant parking lot.When the owner of the restaurant heard the sound and ran out to look, the black car had already gone away. "What time is it?" Dongtian was very interested in this information.

"About half past two in the afternoon." The presumed time of death of the slain housewife was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon.There was no doubt that the black car was connected to the murder. "Did the owner of the restaurant see the driver?" "No, I only saw the fleeing car, but I didn't see what it was." "Why are your eyes so bad!" "Ah, mainly because of the distance." "Do the police have this information?" "The police have removed the sign post and seem to have vacuumed the scene." "Really? If that's the case, it's still newsworthy. Write the manuscript immediately and contact the director of the editorial department. It will be tomorrow's headline news!"

"How can this work?" Machiko was taken aback and couldn't help but speak out.It is okay to post the matter of the black car as a small piece of news. Although it is not certain that the guy who drove away was a murderer, it cannot be said that it is not suspicious at all.There is a saying in the newspaper industry, which is called "what you write, you will gain".However, leaving aside the fact that we are currently in a state of chaos after the incident, just in the past week, this kind of thing that has not yet been written off has been published as the headline news. Doesn't it make other newspapers laugh out loud?

Thinking of this, Machiko said, "No, I can't make headlines." "Whether it's okay or not, you can write to me quickly, the editorial department has already held a meeting to make a decision!" What?Already decided?Machiko was speechless.I don't know what the reporters who are interviewing on the spot can write, but the layout for tomorrow has already been confirmed! Machiko knows that the competition in the newspaper industry is fierce at present, and some people even describe it as "Hawkeye War".However, can this approach of the editorial department improve competitiveness?

"This little material is only enough to write two or three natural paragraphs... Let me tell you, the director, and you can explain to him." Hearing what Machiko said, Higashida sighed on purpose: "Stop rambling, this is war! Do you know? War!" I didn't expect Dong Tian to say the same.Dong Tian is 32 years old this year. He gained the trust inside and outside the newspaper by reporting various cases, and became the director of the reporter department at a young age.As an excellent reporter, Higashida has a lot to learn from, and Machiko has always regarded him as a reliable boss.

Machiko switched the phone to her left hand: "I know that, but..." "If you know it, write it. Who else can write it except you?" "What what? My Machiko has to be responsible to the end?" Machiko was silent for a while, smacked her lips, and hung up the phone. A newspaper expansion war with Takami City as the battlefield.If I were to look for the root cause, it should be the news article written by Machiko three months ago. In a residential area in the west of Takami City, a three-year-old boy fell into a ditch and drowned 800 meters away from his home.The child woke up from a nap and found that his mother was not there, so he went out of the house to search everywhere, but he couldn't find it after searching a long way, and fell into the ditch.Machiko went deep into the scene and walked the path that the child walked, and found that there were not only many open children's parks where parents took their children to play, but also a quaint shopping street along the way.Several adults saw the child walking away while crying, and some people asked him what was wrong, but no one took his little hand and took him to find his mother.

After the on-site interview, sharp words such as "the collapse of the neighborhood relationship in the residential area" and "a tragedy that should not have happened" appeared on the computer screen along with the sound of Machiko typing on the keyboard forcefully. Machiko's article is titled "Ah, Ruthless! "The title was published on the headlines of the front page, which aroused great repercussions.Except for the "Prefectural Shimbun" where Machiko worked, other newspapers simply reported it as a child drowning accident. Colleagues at the "County Citizens News" newspaper all looked at Machiko with admiration and praised her for making a big article out of small materials.

But within a few days, the situation reversed. Instead of praising Machiko, she complained that she caused trouble for the newspaper.It turned out that the local residents were very disgusted after reading the newspaper that published Machiko's article, and they connected with each other everywhere, setting off a "Don't Buy "County News" Campaign".A nonsense tabloid reported the matter embellished and made the whole town know.There is nothing wrong with the article written by Machiko, but the consequences are like worsening the situation for the "County News" which is not in a good business state.The leaders of the newspaper office had to go to the residential area where the child drowning accident occurred. Although it could not be said that they came to apologize, but they explained and bowed, saying, "That news report may be a little emotional. The person who wrote that article The reporter is a girl who is not very sensible, please bear with me." Needless to say, Machiko was hurt, and immediately afterward, the "County Citizens News" fell into an unprecedented predicament. Small disturbances let others take advantage of the loopholes.The "Toyo Shimbun", which is well-known throughout Japan, took the opportunity to launch a powerful subscription offensive in Takami City.What do you mean by "subscribe for three months and get a bicycle free", "If you stop the "Minami Shimbun" and change the subscription to "Toyo Shimbun", in addition to sending a bicycle, add an air pump."The powerful offensive was like Hitler's blitzkrieg during World War II, which almost completely destroyed the "County News". The enemy is not only the national newspapers, but the "Friends of the County Times" in the county has also taken action. The "Friends of the County Times" has been competing with the "County People's News" for readers, and now it is aggressively recruiting reporters, expanding its coverage, and doing free gifts. "County People's News" not only had no power to fight back, it didn't even have the power to defend.There is neither spare cash for gifts nor the funds needed to increase journalists.The result is in the case of powerless occlusion.His nose was bruised and his face was swollen by his opponent. In just three months, he lost more than 5,000 subscribers.Therefore, the recent murder case in Takami City, in the eyes of the "County Citizens News" operator, is a good opportunity to regain lost ground. Come to a "newspaper special news", never lose to other newspapers, report the incident in detail, and attract readers' attention!The order was not only sent to the editorial department and the reporter department, but also to the leadership office and even the subscription department.The four reporters squatting at the prefectural police station are led by the oldest Machiko.Dong Tian, ​​director of the reporter department, concentrated his energy on writing the historical facts of major and important cases in the county. The leaders believed that this book could make a lot of money. The layout design is very eye-catching.On the first day and the second day after the murder happened, "County Citizen News" pushed all the news about the political situation to the second page, using the headlines on the front page, and from the third day to today, it occupied the headlines of the society page for four consecutive days.Of course, for local events, local newspapers should report in more detail than national newspapers. This is the basis for the survival of local newspapers. In broad daylight, a 26-year-old housewife was stabbed to death several times, but the criminal escaped without a trace.The murder incident is a first-level incident, and it is not surprising that it has continuously occupied the headlines.Not only "Xianmin Shimbun", but also "Toyo Shimbun" and "Xianyou Times" are also hyping up this murder case. Machiko started the car but didn't drive away. She put the chair down, closed her eyes and lay down.Her eyelids were trembling unceasingly, as if there were many bugs crawling inside her body, the countless tentacles and hairy legs of the bugs stimulated her nerves, making her restless. Is it really the so-called poor people?This is too cheap, right?Under the pressure of management, even the editorial power was given up, just to get subscriptions to write those sensational news stories, exaggerating material as small as nail polish into earth-shattering big news.In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that this method alone cannot increase the number of subscriptions.That being the case, what is the purpose of fighting this foolish war of attrition? It was completely dark.Through the front windshield, Machiko could see the familiar faces of the reporters passing in and out of the gate of the police station—the Mainichi Shimbun, the Sankei Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Asahi News", "Toyo Shimbun", "Xianyou Times"... a few of them even looked at her.What kind of look is that?It's like runners participating in the same marathon, trying to figure out the fatigue of other runners running beside them to determine their own tactics. "My eyes look like that, too?" Machiko thought with a bit of self-mockery. Machiko turned on the phone and feebly dialed the number of the director of the editorial department, Shindo—there was no way to talk to the director of the reporter department.Tell the editorial director directly! A very familiar baritone voice rang in his ears. "Hey! Is the manuscript finished?" "I just want to tell you about this. I really don't have any good material. How about making the morning's manuscript about the traffic accident the headline?" "Don't talk bastards! The headlines have already been fixed - the murder of the housewife!" "The material is really too weak..." "Didn't you say there is a suspicious black car? Yazaki has already told me." Shindo said aggressively. This Yazaki, steals the credit again!He must have called to report while Machiko was attending a press conference. "It's very interesting material. Don't mind the length, you can write as much as you can." Shinto said after a while in a relaxed tone. "I can't write a few words. Maybe a bosozoku or something hit a signpost and drove away..." "It's possible. The police have started investigating. Why are you hesitating?" "Of course the police will investigate. There is no clue to the murder case. The police will not let go of anything as big as a sesame seed." Machiko's tone became a little rough. Shinto was silent for a while, and the baritone added a threatening tone: "Because the material is obtained by the people under you?" "what?" "Yazaki got the material, so you don't want to write it, right?" "How could you be so..." "That's why the people below you don't cooperate with you. You can be considered an old reporter. You need to build a good relationship with your subordinates. You can't complete the task alone!" The bugs in Machiko's body started to stir together: "Then...then you ask Yazaki to write it, I can't write it!" Shindo suddenly became angry: "Asshole! You are in charge of the interview work of this murder case. If you have time to complain, you can write the manuscript to me!" In the past, Machiko had been strongly infected by Shinto's outspoken roar. "When you become a reporter, you have to write good manuscripts, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman!" Shinto yelled at Machiko more than once.Times have changed, Shindo has recently become the director of the editorial department, the official has a big temper. Machiko pulled the laptop over and started writing the manuscript.I felt a fever in my face—maybe I really had a fever.She tapped the keyboard quickly: the black car... hit the signpost... escaped... the worms in her body were tossing harder and harder. "Write every article for the weak!" Machiko said this when she introduced herself to everyone on her first day at the newspaper with a blushing face.But as for her now, she can't even think about how pitiful the housewife who left the world with her under-year-old child is.