by C.T. Strange

The New Glabe Gazette has produced yet more scandals this week, apparently not content with the embarrassment they brought upon themselves and the city last time with their abhorrent attitude toward what they describe as ‘journalism'. We expose yet more discord and disorder from behind the shutter, courtesy of our contact within the newspaper.

Firstly, conflict amongst the upper management of the newspaper threatens to tear it apart. In response to a supposed leak (not our fault at the Lookout if we beat you to the punch! That's just the business, baby), the owner of the Gazette Charles Humphreys stepped in and fired the editor-in-chief, Sam McDonald. In their place, the Head of Features, Aya Stillwater, has taken the position of editor-in-chief. A perfect choice! Ambitious and respectable… at least on the surface. Looking slightly deeper, Aya has confirmed that her and Charles are close childhood friends. Nepotism, then? Highly likely. But it gets worse. Aya, through her own admission, confirms that she cannot stand up to the whims of Charles. ‘I'm just a puppet to him’ and ‘he's made it exceedingly clear that my position means nothing to him’ are among a few of the things she's said in an interview graciously provided to us. Such cowardice from the top branch of the Gazette, as well as such scummy blackmailing, are quite unbecoming of what is meant to be the paragon of New Glabe journalism.

The problems don't end there. Financial motives, as opposed to the desire to tell the stories people need to hear, has become the Gazette's primary motivation. Even since before Sam McDonald's sacking, the Gazette has refused to publish an article criticising the environmentally harmful practices of one of their biggest sponsors due to fears of financial consequences, leading to the resigning of Flora Meadows and the dissolution of the Environment Department. Since the chaos following the intervention of Charles Humphreys, financial gains have gained further importance as the Gazette's primary motivation with the employment of a new finance minister. The consequences have been dire. The Features Department has also hit the chopping block, with discussions of further cuts to save money. Furthermore, due to the monetary success of his sensationalist and dangerous rhetoric, Elis Sinclair has received additional funding directly from the top to expand their publications. Someone known for their prior illegal activities being given such primacy further represents the total moral bankruptcy of the Gazette. Such a dire situation it has become that employees are being hired with no background checks and no pay, such as Marty Keenan, who has worked as an intern for four weeks with no pay and has access to all the Gazette’s IT technology despite having no official qualifications or position to do so.

The upsets in the office have not gone unnoticed or unchallenged. The environment in the Gazette is the tensest it has ever been. A strike movement has arisen in response to Charles Humphreys’ measures, with key figures such as Alon H., Anette ‘Nettie’ Schmidt, Drusilla Short, Esme Miller and Laurentius Abberfraw taking part in subversive activities against the Gazette leadership. For such an anti-Worker figure like Abberfraw to be taking part in these activities shows just how tense the situation has become that he resorts to such measures. Investigative journalist Constantyne has also taken to enacting vigilante justice by unlawfully interrogating members of staff to discover his supposed mole. Driving this in large part is his anger towards the publishing of the Toy Factory Expose by the Lookout before he was able to, even though his disturbing interrogations have extended even to members of staff in no way involved in the story, such as myself. These unlawful practices, normally a task of Human Resources, have even been endorsed by the new editor-in-chief, Aya Stillwater, until they were turned against her. Shouting matches have even taken place between now former Head of Innovations Hydro Ivory-Starr and Aya over trivial topics such as the name she uses. Such childish bickering is hardly professional.

The Gazette has taken a turn for the dark, with scandal after scandal marking its increasingly soaked and decrepit pages. At the Lookout, we respect journalistic integrity and good quality stories, which our rival has for so long provided. It is a shame to see it stoop so low and drop to such depths. We all hope the situation will soon improve.

And yes, they still believe in ghosts.

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