newspaper club (marilyn)

It was the first Newspaper Club meeting he'd attended, having missed the previous. It wasn't intentionally: there just happened to be a very big disagreement after dinner on the second floor stairwell and he never made it in time, having to send certain students to Professors' offices and ensure no one was getting hurt. But today, he'd made it. Now he was sitting at a table with Marilyn. The other members were scattered about working on their own articles or assembling the stories with photos.

"The thing is, I have no idea how to start or to grip others' attention," he was saying, having felt a little out of his element now he was there with her. "Of course I know what I want to write about. I want to shed light on the prejudices here, and encourage people to speak up about it. But it's just... how to start it."

Writing definitely wasn't his forte...

@Marilyn Grayson

The second meeting for the club was going great; the opposition from a certain bunch of slimy snakes didn't prevent a few new faces from taking part, and it made her feel more encouraged that she was on the right path. She had an extremely difficult time last term trying to get people to join, but it seemed like she got the marketing down now!

She was especially happy to see that her friend Jerome was able to attend this time, especially with the bombshells they were planning on getting written and published.

"Mum always taught me that you have to start with an attention-getter even if it slightly embellishes the truth!"

The idea of yellow journalism not being ethical has yet to hit her; Marilyn just knew for certain that it was a guaranteed way to sell papers and get headlines out there. Crossing her arms on top of the desk, she asked, "What is the most scandalous thing you can think of?"

@Jerome Estrada

Of course Edith Grayson would say that.

"But I think it would be better to stick with the facts, Marilyn. Not just from a moral standpoint but because the facts are all there: it's happening, and it's obvious that it is."

The most scandalous thing he could think of, though...

How about a girl betraying her fiance and going into the arms of another man?

Urgh. Thinking that wasn't helpful to his current situation, or at all.

"The scandal is that people like Burke are getting away with condemning muggleborns, and using slurs that ought to have been left with the second wizarding war."

@Marilyn Grayson

"But you have to get them to read the first few words, Jerome! If it seems boring or uninteresting, nobody will see the point you have to make!"

What kind of headline could they make with what everyone has seen?

Not a very attention-catching one.

"But that's not new information unless you're going for an opinion piece! Everyone knows the purebloods here having been doing that for years, what's something they haven't noticed?!"

Jerome had to have seen something worth writing about in all of his years as prefect.

@Jerome Estrada

"I'm not trying to get people to notice, I'm trying to make people actually care about it," he said, frustrated, not knowing what she was expecting. He already had little confidence about his writing skill, and now he felt even less so. "It could also be pointed out that the changes Riddle has made work in favour of them, that he's hired people who clearly have those sorts of attitudes themselves. That he has Burke as Head Boy, although he's completely lousy at the job and is only using the position to throw his weight around."

He frowned slightly.

"But I'm not making up some story or false statistic or something. That just makes us seem weak. It's exactly the sort of thing they do: embellish and fabricate to save their own skins."

@Marilyn Grayson

"You could send a survey out to ask all of our classmates about the changes now that we know what they are. You can make a headline out of that. 'Three-fourths of Hogwarts' students agree that dance class isn't fun!'"

She liked Jerome's ideas, that was why she encouraged him to join the school newspaper in the first place, but they needed to find the attention-getter that would undoubtedly get everyone reading the paper.

Pulling out some parchment, she stuck it on the table. "We can start with the rest of the club!"

@Jerome Estrada

"Oh yeah - I forgot you'd mentioned that before," he admitted, feeling sorry that he had. "But it's a good idea. The headline could be more generalised but punchy enough to make them read on. Say something like... 96% of students have had enough and want change. Then you'd ask: 'had enough of what' or 'why is that statistic so high?' or 'which changes?' - you know? That would have them reading on."

At least he was beginning to feel less hopeless and more motivated now: they had a plan of action to take.

Looking around the room then back to her, he nodded.

"Let's start with Aquila over there. Coming from a family who have experienced both sides of it, her input would be good to have."

@Marilyn Grayson

"That's the right idea!"

Personally, Marilyn would've followed her mum's advice more on using scandalous headlines to hook readers, but Jerome was too honest to exploit a nugget of truth. He was like Evelyn in that way. D'awww!

She nodded. "That's an excellent idea, Jerome!"

Getting up, she walked over to Aquila, who was in the middle of chatting about photos she had taken, and said, "There's a few questions Jerome wants to ask you for his article!"

@Jerome Estrada