that I’d be held accountable if this predicament got messy for the station.
“Being held accountable” was a businesslike way of saying being punished. I tried looking somber as I left her office so she’d know I took her rebuke seriously.
Then I went to work on the arrest story. This wouldn’t be any exclusive. Because of the erotica author angle the other media now wanted a piece of Kate’s death.
((ANCHOR CU))
A BREAK IN THE MURDER CASE OF
THE EROTICA AUTHOR . . . RILEY
SPARTZ JOINS US LIVE OUTSIDE
HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL WITH THE NEWS.
((RILEY LIVE))
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE MADE AN
ARREST IN THE KILLING OF KATE
WARNER, ALSO KNOWN BY HER
PEN NAME OF DESIREE FLEUR.
THEY HAVE A FRIEND OF THE
VICTIM IN CUSTODY BUT SO FAR
HAVE NOT CHARGED HIM WITH
THE CRIME.
I deliberately left Chuck’s name out of the script because our broadcast policy was not to name suspects unless charged. The exceptions were public figures such as politicians or celebrities or suspects who were an immediate threat to society. Chuck didn’t fit either criteria.
Benny spent an hour in jail with Chuck and came out representing the guy. He even called to thank me for the referral. I didn’t bother quizzing him about whether he thought his client was guilty, because I knew Benny didn’t care. More important to him was whether he’d make air that night on the news.
I saw a way to make my story different from the competition. So I asked whether he had confirmed the stuff about the people meter.
“Yeah, Riley, the guy says he was home watching TV. Alone. Took a bit of pulling to get him to explain how he’s one of those ratings households you were talking about. But then even he could see this might firm up his alibi.”
“So you calling Nielsen for the data?”
“Absolutely.”
“They won’t hand it over,” I warned. “They’ll consider it proprietary—trade secrets.”
“I’ll get a court order. A man’s freedom is at stake.”
Benny swung by the station to do a quick on-camera interview with me. “It’ll rattle the cops because it’s something they won’t have expected. They might even kick my guy loose to avoid looking like idiots.”
I started reworking the story.
((ANCHOR BOX))
CHANNEL 3 HAS LEARNED THAT
THE SUSPECT BEING HELD IN THE
EROTICA AUTHOR MURDER MAY
HAVE AN UNUSUAL ALIBI. RILEY
SPARTZ JOINS US LIVE FROM THE
HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL.
((RILEY LIVE))
THE HOMICIDE SUSPECT CLAIMS HE WAS HOME ALONE WATCHINGTELEVISION . . . AND BECAUSE
OF A NEW FORM OF RATINGS
TECHNOLOGY, HIS ATTORNEY SAYS
HE JUST MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVE IT.
((BENNY SOT))
IN A FIRST OF ITS KIND
SUBPOENA . . . I’LL BE CHECKING
HIS ALIBI AGAINST COMPUTERIZED
RECORDS OF HIS TELEVISION
VIEWING . . . IT’LL BE LIKE RATINGS FORENSICS.
I explained to viewers how Nielsen measures audience size with people meters and that the suspect’s TV viewing habits were monitored by the ratings company.
Noreen grimaced as she read the news script.
I tried reassuring her. “Now that he’s under arrest, the fact that he’s a Nielsen household is going to come out as part of his defense. So we might as well be the ones breaking it.”
“Don’t you forget.” She waved her finger at me. “This goes bad, I’m holding you accountable.”
Just then, neither of us had any idea how bad it could go.
CHAPTER 21
T his time, watching the news on television upset him.
He could live without glory. He had proved that over the last several months. What he couldn’t bear was seeing fame go to someone else. That needed to stop. He realized his reaction sounded vain and knew he should make his dissatisfaction about maintaining accuracy, not taking credit.
That was more admirable than egotistic.
Errors must be corrected.
He wrote down the reporter’s name. Riley Spartz.
CHAPTER 22
I didn’t feel his eyes watching me the next morning when I walked to the station after parking my car. My mind was on Garnett flying home and his arms around my body. I didn’t know
“Being held accountable” was a businesslike way of saying being punished. I tried looking somber as I left her office so she’d know I took her rebuke seriously.
Then I went to work on the arrest story. This wouldn’t be any exclusive. Because of the erotica author angle the other media now wanted a piece of Kate’s death.
((ANCHOR CU))
A BREAK IN THE MURDER CASE OF
THE EROTICA AUTHOR . . . RILEY
SPARTZ JOINS US LIVE OUTSIDE
HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL WITH THE NEWS.
((RILEY LIVE))
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE MADE AN
ARREST IN THE KILLING OF KATE
WARNER, ALSO KNOWN BY HER
PEN NAME OF DESIREE FLEUR.
THEY HAVE A FRIEND OF THE
VICTIM IN CUSTODY BUT SO FAR
HAVE NOT CHARGED HIM WITH
THE CRIME.
I deliberately left Chuck’s name out of the script because our broadcast policy was not to name suspects unless charged. The exceptions were public figures such as politicians or celebrities or suspects who were an immediate threat to society. Chuck didn’t fit either criteria.
Benny spent an hour in jail with Chuck and came out representing the guy. He even called to thank me for the referral. I didn’t bother quizzing him about whether he thought his client was guilty, because I knew Benny didn’t care. More important to him was whether he’d make air that night on the news.
I saw a way to make my story different from the competition. So I asked whether he had confirmed the stuff about the people meter.
“Yeah, Riley, the guy says he was home watching TV. Alone. Took a bit of pulling to get him to explain how he’s one of those ratings households you were talking about. But then even he could see this might firm up his alibi.”
“So you calling Nielsen for the data?”
“Absolutely.”
“They won’t hand it over,” I warned. “They’ll consider it proprietary—trade secrets.”
“I’ll get a court order. A man’s freedom is at stake.”
Benny swung by the station to do a quick on-camera interview with me. “It’ll rattle the cops because it’s something they won’t have expected. They might even kick my guy loose to avoid looking like idiots.”
I started reworking the story.
((ANCHOR BOX))
CHANNEL 3 HAS LEARNED THAT
THE SUSPECT BEING HELD IN THE
EROTICA AUTHOR MURDER MAY
HAVE AN UNUSUAL ALIBI. RILEY
SPARTZ JOINS US LIVE FROM THE
HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL.
((RILEY LIVE))
THE HOMICIDE SUSPECT CLAIMS HE WAS HOME ALONE WATCHINGTELEVISION . . . AND BECAUSE
OF A NEW FORM OF RATINGS
TECHNOLOGY, HIS ATTORNEY SAYS
HE JUST MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVE IT.
((BENNY SOT))
IN A FIRST OF ITS KIND
SUBPOENA . . . I’LL BE CHECKING
HIS ALIBI AGAINST COMPUTERIZED
RECORDS OF HIS TELEVISION
VIEWING . . . IT’LL BE LIKE RATINGS FORENSICS.
I explained to viewers how Nielsen measures audience size with people meters and that the suspect’s TV viewing habits were monitored by the ratings company.
Noreen grimaced as she read the news script.
I tried reassuring her. “Now that he’s under arrest, the fact that he’s a Nielsen household is going to come out as part of his defense. So we might as well be the ones breaking it.”
“Don’t you forget.” She waved her finger at me. “This goes bad, I’m holding you accountable.”
Just then, neither of us had any idea how bad it could go.
CHAPTER 21
T his time, watching the news on television upset him.
He could live without glory. He had proved that over the last several months. What he couldn’t bear was seeing fame go to someone else. That needed to stop. He realized his reaction sounded vain and knew he should make his dissatisfaction about maintaining accuracy, not taking credit.
That was more admirable than egotistic.
Errors must be corrected.
He wrote down the reporter’s name. Riley Spartz.
CHAPTER 22
I didn’t feel his eyes watching me the next morning when I walked to the station after parking my car. My mind was on Garnett flying home and his arms around my body. I didn’t know
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