Thecommercial building was the tallest skysc.r.a.per in County S and was the economichub of the county.
Theplace was normally congested. However with the hubbub of a possible jumper, thefilm car couldn’t even get close to the building.
“Mrdriver, you can put me down here, I’ll call for you when I get the pictures Ineed…”
SeCai opened the door and leaped into the crowd.
“Goodness,someone’s jumping. He’s up there on the 33rd floor. He’s yellingsomething, can’t you hear?”
“Thepolice’s up there but he won’t let them get close or he’ll jump!”
“Yes,I hear the person’s only twenty something. Young kids nowadays sure can’thandle pressure…”
Chattersof the crowd sifted into Se Cai’s ears as he cut through the busy street.
“Excuseme, excuse me…”
Thepolice had set up a perimeter at the entrance of the building. The public wasnot allowed beyond the yellow tape. Se Cai took out his camera and startedsnapping pictures.
Thesewere some of the on-site pictures that Director Bai wanted.
Then,Se Cai set down his tripod and aimed his camera up at the sky. Unfortunately,he was too late to realize the view of the camera was blocked by a giant advertis.e.m.e.ntboard. He had to move in closer to the building to get a better view.
SeCai lifted the tripod and nudged it further in. He soon found himself right atthe yellow tape.
“Stopright there, can’t you see the yellow line?”
Apolice officer yelled at Se Cai.
“h.e.l.lo,fellow officer, I’m a reporter from County S Tv Station. Could you please letme through? I need to cover this news…”
Se Caitipped his camera equipment towards the policeman. It was a piece of professionalfilming equipment, normally only used by professional reporters. It should beenough to verify Se Cai’s ident.i.ty.
Afterall, all the government departments and media knew of one another in the smallCounty S. They normally wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for thecounty’s news workers. They had a symbiotic relationship.
“CountyS Tv Station? I’m sorry but orders from the County Publicity Department saidthat no member of media is allowed through.”
Thepoliceman scanned Se Cai and replied plainly.
“Couldn’tyou make a kind exception? I promise to not stand in the way. By the way, mrpoliceman, what time did the person appeared at the rooftop?”
Se Caisaid smilingly but was furious inside.
It wasthe d.a.m.n Publicity Department again!
ThePublicity Department was by name the tv station’s superior but oftentimes forthe sake of ‘maintaining good public conduct’ would suppress and limit thestation’s news reporting.
Especiallywhen it came to big cases like these, their policy was to do as little as possibleto avoid possible missteps, to wait for the fever of the event to pa.s.s and onlythen record it with a simple report. This was to decrease public awareness onissues which would in turn lower the government’s workload. Plus, it ensuredthat these official’s names won’t be brought up should things go awry.
Unlikethese government appointees, depended on reporting andregistering public opinion so Se Cai couldn’t just shrug it off. “I’msorry but I can’t give any comments. If you need a public statement, pleaserefer to my colleagues from media management. My only responsibility is toguard this line.”
Thepoliceman said with a warning.
Se Caiglanced at the badge on the policeman’s shoulder. It only had the 2 crookedlines, obviously a new officer.
“Well…who is your superior? Let me talk to him.”
Se Caiknew this policeman wasn’t going to let him through so he had to try his luckelsewhere.
Timewas incredibly precious at events like these. Every second was important.
Afterall, Se Cai had been at his post for almost a year. Maybe he would happen toknow his superior.
“DeputyBureau Director Wong is up there negotiating with the jumper. He doesn’t have thetime to entertain you.”
Thepoliceman replied coldly, not at all willing to budge from his stance.
“Doesthis policeman have some personal vendetta against the media…?”
Societybeat reporters typically have good rapport with law enforcement because they workalongside each other. Their work often overlaps.
Regretfully,Se Cai was still too new at his job to be able to call special contacts thatwould help him grease the right wheels.
Se Caisighed deeply and quickly pulled from his pocket his cellphone. He had nochoice but to try his luck with his contacts down at the police bureau.
Hiscontacts were the media management people the policeman mentioned. They wereresponsible for releasing media statement, holding press conference, dictatingpress release and so forth. In other words, they were the bureau’s media handlers.Therefore, these people had constant contact with the tv station.
Se Caihoped he could get something good out of his contacts.
Se Cai thoughwas caught in total shock when he looked at his phone.
He hadforgotten to charge it the night before because he was too tired!
Now howwas he going to find help?
“F*ck!I’m running out of time. I have to get up there or I’ll miss the news!”
Se Caiscreamed internally.
Thesystem told him that earning News Point was not only dependent on his piece gettingon the lead news, but also it needed to garner a sizeable public response.
Grantedthe report on the jumper had newsworthiness but what were a few pictures of thesidewalk, building and the crowd going to amount to? Without a shot of theactual scene, his piece might not even get on the program, much less the leadnews!
Rightthen, a cap-wearing muscular teen and a woman in a white suit ran over.
Theteen was lugging along a camera and the woman had in her hand a wirelessmicrophone and had on a media badge.
Thepair rushed hastily towards the entrance.
“Heythere, please step behind the line…”
Thepoliceman stepped forth to stop them but he froze on the spot when he noticedthe inspector who wore a white uniform trailing behind them.
Almostinstantly, his stern expression melted into a fawning smile. He pulled the lineup to allow the trio to go through.
“Whiteuniform?”
Se Caithought to himself. An officer had to atleast be a Cla.s.s 3 Commissioner to be able to wear a white uniform.
Suchhigh ranking officers were rare in Province City Z much less County S.
Accordingto his memory, there was no one in County S law enforcement that was high-rankingenough to wear a white uniform… except the newly transferred County Politicsand Legislative Commissioner!
The newcommissioner who was also the police bureau’s director had the surname Xie.Because he had to handle many responsibilities, management of the police bureaunormally fell on the shoulders of Deputy Bureau Director Wong, the person whomthe policeman said was in negotiation with the jumper.
Spottingthis opportunity, Se Cai came forth to accost the commissioner, “Nice to meet you,commissioner. I’m Se Cai, a reporter from County S Tv Station. I would like toask for permission to enter the scene to report on the news…”
“CountyS Tv Station?”
Thecommissioner frowned, he said impatiently, “the 2 person I was with are fromProvince X Tv Station. They happened to be giving me an interview when this happened.In any case, for a scene as delicate as this, the fewer media there is, thebetter. We don’t need you here.”
Withthat, he turned and left.
Thepoliceman threw him a snide smile, “You heard our Commissioner Xie. Now getlost!”
Se Cairetreated with a sigh.
Afterall, the reporter from the province station came with the accompaniment of thecommissioner. He? He was just a n.o.body.
He knewthat to be the reality of life but it still irked him to no end.