Chapter 21: Hell is Heaven

[Chapter 21: Hell is Heaven]

The city derby was always the most brutal.

In the Los Angeles press scene, the Los Angeles Times launched a fierce attack on the Los Angeles Herald: "Ian Carr was nothing more than an attention-seeking clown. He stood by the riverside villa, ignoring a gunshot victim who lay dying, which directly led to the victim's death in a subsequent gunfight. He barged into a room with an unrelated girl, recklessly endangering lives. He assaulted a suspect, conducting interviews in a way that violated journalistic ethics. He interviewed the mother of a victim completely disregarding her emotional pain. Everything he did went against the integrity expected of a journalist; it was immoral and unjust and should be condemned."

...

This criticism quickly drew public ridicule:

"How dare the Los Angeles Times say such things? You're the best at tearing open others' wounds. What did you do about the Larry Moore case? An innocent girl died, and you went to interview her grandfather, asking him how he felt about her death."

"And regarding the Waite shooting case, your coverage obstructed police work and led to that guy's escape."

"Jealousy! Plain, raw jealousy!"

...

In the Los Angeles Herald office, Ian looked at these ridiculous comments with a sneer.

People always wanted to see what they wanted to see.

An eternal truth in the media was that negative coverage always attracted more attention than positive stories!

The sordid lives, chaotic organizations, dirty political dealings, bloody gun violence, rampant robberies and murders, pervasive dark terror... and the absurdity of future political correctness that embraced LGBT issues and zero-dollar purchases.

For a journalist, this hellish world was paradise!

Ignoring the comments from the Los Angeles Times, Ian continued to scroll through netizen comments.

Compared to the discussions among his peers, the online comments were far more entertaining.

...

"Fuck! I knew Hollywood producers were trash; they not only like men, and women, they won't even spare kids!"

"Damn it, why did they blur that out?"

"Shut up, are you a pervert too?"

"Of course, I am! Come get me if you think you can!"

"Ian Carr? Who the hell is this guy? How did he manage to take down that scumbag while holding his head for an interview?"

"I like this kid; his interview style is unique. Too bad he didn't get to interview that piece of trash for longer."

"He held the guy's head and pounded it while doing an interview... Ian Carr invented a whole new style of interviewing: torture-style interviewing!"

"He's just an attention-seeking guy."

"Jealousy! Pure, raw jealousy."

"So, Kate Beckinsale finally got together with Ian? She just escaped from being a hostage, and now she's become Ian Carr's camerawoman?"

"Fuck! Kate, you can't do that!"

"Go, Kate! You saved that girl!"

"She didn't intervene."

"But she participated, she made a difference."

"I heard the police department is going to award Ian Carr a Citizen Hero Medal for saving a poor girl. Not long ago, he was a murder suspect."

"I heard he's going to court soon."

"No, it's canceled. They think Ian Carr is a hero, so there's no need to take him to court."

...

"Oh yeah!"

At the Los Angeles Herald, the cheers of celebration from the editors and Ian's angry curses echoed simultaneously in the hall.

"Fuck!"

The series of explosive reports significantly boosted the Herald's sales, helping them finally escape from their financial woes, which delighted everyone until Ian's furious roar echoed from the office.

What could make the boss this angry?

Everyone stared at the office in confusion, just in time to watch Ian burst out, stepping out of his office with a determined stride: "Who ordered them to drop the charges? Has America fallen so low that killing someone no longer requires a trial to declare innocence?"

Even though Ian had a justifiable reason for killing Charlie Mills and solid evidence to back it, due process was still necessary to confirm that his actions had been unavoidable in that situation.

For Ian, this was a good thing: the Charlie Mills case could provide him with a seventh hot topic.

To stir the pot, Ian specifically recruited a lawyer to point out various unreasonable aspects of Ian's actions, suggesting possible premeditated murder -- such as whether it was necessary to shoot Charlie Mills, given that he was already incapacitated.

Conflict brewed stories!

Marx put it perfectly: greedy capitalists could sell the noose that strangled them for triple profit.

The Herald wasn't big enough, and to grow rapidly, Ian was willing to risk everything, even his own future.

Little did he expect that the police would abandon the prosecution and determine him to be not guilty outright.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

He's angry about this?

Editor Lloyd timidly asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"Bullshit!" Ian waved his fist, exclaiming, "This should have been a great news story! An exclusive interview only our team could do, where I could bravely declare my righteousness while stepping on the prosecutor's throat! But now I've lost that opportunity. A courtroom debate on a hot topic would have made for great news! Why isn't the police prosecuting me?"

An editor said helplessly, "Because they just awarded you a Citizen Hero Medal."

Ian smacked his forehead in exasperation: "I shouldn't have accepted that."

Lloyd replied, "It's an honor, Ian."

Ian shook his head dismissively. "A worthless honor! Totally worthless!"

Saying this, he returned to his office and slammed the door shut.

...

Everyone exchanged glances, speechless.

Finally, Roy Lloyd said, "I think you all understand... our boss has grown up; he has high standards for his work. So you all better not disappoint him."

Everyone's expressions changed simultaneously.

The boss had matured, which was good news, freeing them from fears of unemployment.

But growing too fast, everyone found it hard to keep up, foreshadowing endless pressure ahead.

So, would you rather have a useless boss or a kickass one?

A group of editors exchanged glances before picking up the phones to shout:

"Jared, tell me what good leads you have over there!"

"I need to know what's happening on Laurel Street tonight!"

"For God's sake, Lark, give me some insider info!"

*****

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