Whenever editor Kent Ellis called reporter Jess Crimson into his office, she knew she had done something wrong with her latest article. Jess felt confused this time because the article was about a dog who was appointed an honorary crossing guard at the local elementary school. It was a story that basically wrote itself.
“Great job on the piece,” Kent said, as Jess sat down in his office. “We got a really great response.”
“Glad to hear it,” Jess said. “Animal stories always do well.”
“They do,” Kent said, “Which is why I have exciting news. We’re going to have you on the Fit to Print podcast tomorrow.”
The Fit to Print podcast was The Jungles’ premier news gathering podcast, and it was common for reporters to take their stories to the show. However, the stories were usually hard-hitting, in-depth reporting. They were not stories about dogs doing human jobs.
“That’s a two-hour podcast,” Jess said. “You can read my story in a minute and a half.”
“I’m sure you have interviews you cut and behind-the-scenes info you can bring to light,” Kent said.
“The dog can’t talk. The dog’s owner refused to talk to us, and the kids and the teachers just thought it was really cool,” Jess replied.
“I’m going to level with you,” Kent said. “We need good numbers this week on the podcast, and your story was the most popular of the week.”
“But there’s nothing to talk about,” Jess said.
“You’ll think of something,” Kent said. Jess walked out of the office and wondered if she would be fired the next time she was in Kent’s office due to a poor performance on the Fit to Print podcast.