Page 76 of Until We Burn
It’s from the Howler’s Board of Directors.
There are so many words and dates and bullet points. But one sentence stands out stark and clear.
Due to recent events and concerns raised by the majority of regular contributors, the board has decided to dismiss you as editor-in-chief of the Howler.
CHAPTER 32
DIANA
Jonathan and Sophia’sscheming have taken away too much from me and I won’t let them take away the Howler, too.
Not without a fight.
I storm into DHU’s School of Journalism first thing on Monday morning.
“I have a meeting with Benedict Vanderkoff.”
His assistant leaps out of her chair upon seeing me. She clumsily fixes the glasses on her face before nodding. “Uh, y-yes, of course! Right this way.”
I follow her down a pristine brown hallway.
When I calmed down about the email, I went straight towards crisis handling and demanded a meeting with the chair of the board. I’ve known and worked with Benedict Vanderkoff in the past. We don’t go out for coffee, but we tolerate each other enough that I’m slightly hopeful Benedict might reconsider dismissing me as editor-in-chief once he hears what I have to say about it.
The board never told me they were planning to dismiss me. I should’ve had time to be notified and do what I could to keep my position. There had to be some leeway.
“I’m afraid there’s not much we can do.”
But Benedict was unswayable no matter how much I pleaded my case.
For a five-footed man, he dominates the office with the shamelessness of someone who doesn’t care about standing out. His dark brown hair is always slicked back, and I’ve never seen him in anything except those vintage sweater vests. Even though Benedict is the chair of the board, I always had a feeling he was elected because he’s easy to persuade compared to his competitors. I’m positive the board and the contributors persuaded him to oust me despite what’s been done in the past.
My fingers dig into the armrests of my chair. “In my second year, I remember when Felix Russo was exposed for faking sources and sleeping with a few of them to get information for his stories. You just gave him a week off and then he kept running the Howler as normal when he returned.”
Benedict sighs and twiddles with his ballpoint pen. “There was a labor strike on campus. We needed a leader in the newsroom.”
“You could’ve had the managing editor take his place temporarily,” I point out. “It would’ve worked because it was the last couple weeks of the winter term, anyways. There was no reason to keep Felix.”
Benedict cocks his head. “What exactly are you accusing us of, Diana?”
I’m accusing you of treating me differently because I’m not Felix Russo. He broke a major ethic as a reporter. What I did wasn’t even related to reporting or how I run the Howler, and yet my punishment is so much worse.
But uttering all of that is a waste of time because the response is always the same every time we point out their prejudice and their bias.
We are dedicated to uplifting all ethnicities, genders, and members of marginalized communities.
I’m not naïve to the fact that the board appointed me just so I can be a token of their commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
But here’s the thing about being a token: You’re a puppet on a string and they can cut you down the second you’re not playing the part they want you to.
I can tell that bringing up Felix Russo rattles some sense intoBenedict’s brain. He softens and abandons his media-trained answers to genuinely talk to me.
“Look, you’re a talented news leader with a shrewd eye, Diana. With everything that went down, you had to have seen this coming.”
Andrea’s takeover at the fundraiser.
What I assumed was her petty need to feel self-righteous was actually a subtle ploy to oust me this whole time.
“I was focused on trying to figure out how to keep the Howler running as usual without our normal numbers,” I explain. “You can understand how being potentially dismissed wasn’t on my mind.”
