Journalistic Spirit

<Spiritoso>

As the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, I was lamenting the arrival of a dull season.

“Ugh, it’s election season again. There’s nothing exciting to write about. From the newspaper club’s perspective, it’s just boring.”

“I believe that taking interest in politics is the duty of every citizen—and student,” said Komodo, trying to chide me. But I fired back.

“It’s not that I think politics are boring or that I don’t care. It’s just… election articles have no freedom. You have to follow the same format that's been passed down year after year, and it has to get through adult approval. Even if you do interviews, the range of what you can actually write is super narrow. That’s why it sucks. I don’t feel like a reporter—just a glorified proofreader.”

“Proofreading is a respectable profession. Please refrain from such careless remarks.”

“Well, anyway, that’s the deal—we’re stuck with a fixed format. For example, the article about the first-year candidate running for secretary, Groove—who has the conservatives’ backing—gets a full ten lines. But with Lala, who’s running unaffiliated, we’re told from above to keep it to one line. It’s like the adults are rigging the election results.”

“There are rumors about Groove’s bad reputation. Stuff like touching girls without consent and stealing rare MTG cards from the nerdy guys.”

“Exactly. That’s why I can’t stand the idea of him winning like it’s no big deal. I want to strike back and make the adults eat their words. So I went and interviewed Lala. And wouldn’t you know it—she’s got a heart-wrenching backstory. Her father was a Lizardman mercenary who saved up enough money for her school entrance fee and a pricey classical literature reference book… and then died in battle. I thought, ‘She deserves to win.’ It’s the kind of story that moves not just liberal types who sympathize with minorities, but even conservatives who have veterans in the family. Even if it appeals to a sense of patriotism rooted in the enemy camp. That’s pathos and logos—emotion and logic. Lala’s great at logic, but she struggles with emotion. And elections, in the end, come down to how well you can move people’s hearts. So I figured I’d use the article to back her up on that front.”

“Even so, elections demand neutral reporting.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why, at the very least, I want to give them both around five lines each. I’ll reclaim the journalist’s spirit the adults have forgotten in their chase for numbers and self-interest—with my own hands. I’ll remind them that we students have the power to shape the future.”

“Do you think this will work?”

“I’ve got a plan. I’ll submit Draft A—the one that follows the adults’ instructions—to the teacher. Then, I’ll give Draft B—the one that properly covers Lala—to the printing office. It’s a simple trick. But people are easily fooled.”

“You don’t think we’ll get fired from the newspaper club for this...?”

“If it happens, it happens. Life’s long. We’ll figure it out.”