On Monday, I went to work with the Nagano souvenir sweets I’d bought online in tow. But when I arrived at the newsroom, nearly everyone was crowded around the TV in the lounge area.
“What’s going on?” I asked Asou, the only person still sitting at his desk.
“Jipang,” he answered. “Someone’s filed a civil suit against them for slander and defamation on Newsment.”
I hastily weaved my way through the crowd to see the screen for myself. There, I found a close-up shot of a woman’s throat and collarbones while her hand raised a white handkerchief in and out of frame.
“After they made me out to be a criminal, my whole life changed.”
The list of charges included emotional distress, violation of civil rights, and a formal complaint to the BPO media watchdog group.
I walked back over to Asou. “Was this the Yokohama insurance fraud case?”
“Yep.”
Many outlets had covered the story of a woman whose husband had died under suspicious circumstances after buying a disproportionate amount of life insurance. She had spoken to the cameras with her face blurred out.
“It all started when one of the studio cohosts said, ‘Crimes like these have been happening a lot lately.’ Even if it’s only a matter of time before the cops arrest her, the second you try to implicate a witness, you’ve crossed a line.”
The cohost’s comment would have been fine at a casual get-together, but not on live television.
“I admit, the woman looks guilty as all hell, but that’s exactly why you have to tread lightly, whether you’re reporting or commentating. Cops don’t like it when you try to jump the gun on their investigation. After all, you might drive the culprit to suicide.”
“What will happen to Newsment?”
“Word has it they were already struggling with internal conflict, so I’m sure they’re busy trying to point fingers at each other. I feel bad for the director they subcontracted since that’s who’s probably gonna end up taking the fall. Hard to say if this scandal will kill the show outright, but if not, the higher-ups will put a tighter leash on it, and it’ll lose all the unique charm it had. If it was my call, I’d tell ’em to recast the lineup during the next shuffle, or maybe just have it fade out altogether.”
“Asou-san… Did you know this would happen?”
“No, I’m not psychic—I’m just not surprised, that’s all. This is what happens when someone makes a show without knowing just how scary TV can be.”
Yes, this industry was scary. Talented individuals could vanish in the blink of an eye, or find themselves traumatized over one single mistake. I had witnessed that fear myself, if only a small glimpse. There was no way I was going to celebrate this scandal as a victory over a competitor when I knew damn well it could happen to me someday. Ugh, if only they’d said one of the seven dirty words or something so we could all laugh it off!
“Speaking of scary,” Asou continued with a thin smile, “that little broadcast of yours. Granted, it aired during a soccer match, but even then, it got quite a bit of buzz.”
“Thanks again for all your help with that.”
“There won’t be a next time, hear me? That newbie’s worth thirty points at most. He should take a long, hard look at his future, both in this field and elsewhere.”
Yeowch. Well, at least it’s not thirty points out of 20,000.