In case the glowing description and the giant photo didn’t taunt Ash enough, Harry’s profile included a short clip from The News at Nine—from his report on Lucy and her bike.
“It’s just not fair,” Ash fumed. She was pacing back and forth, letting off so much steam, she could have been leaving actual smoke in her wake. “We make The Underground News using Van Ness Movie Maker, and they didn’t want to profile me.”
“Um,” Brielle said, “to be precise, I make The Underground News—and The News at Nine—using Van Ness Movie Maker. And they didn’t profile me either.”
Ash and Maya looked at her.
“I mean, we’re talking about fairness,” she continued calmly, “and they’re talking about software. The anchor barely touches the computer at all. Just saying.”
“You’re right!” said Maya with a sad look. “They should have you on there, Brielle, not Harry or Ash.”
“No thanks,” Brielle said quickly, holding up her hands. “I stay inside the booth for a reason. But the people on the screen always get all the credit. So it’s not like any of this is fair, Ash.”
Ash frowned. Brielle was right; neither show would be possible without her and her technical expertise, but the viewers barely knew she existed, let alone how hard she worked. Ash hadn’t even thought about her, which only further proved Brielle’s point and made Ash feel worse.
“We couldn’t do anything without you, Brielle,” the anchor assured her, wrapping her in a hug.
“You’re the best director and editor in the world,” the camerawoman added, getting up from the beanbag chair and joining in.
“Okay, okay. You two can be so extra.” Brielle pushed them off and rolled her eyes. But she was smiling too. “I was just trying to say that we shouldn’t take this personally. Van Ness Media probably picked Harry because it was easy, since they sponsor The News at Nine.”
“Wouldn’t they have to ‘disclose’ that?” Ash muttered, grumpy again at the mention of Harry. “Last year, Ms. Sullivan made me disclose that Sadie was my sister when I reported on the first-grade science projects. So people would know if I was playing favorites.”
“The Underground News should report on favoritism at Van Ness Media,” Maya joked.
But Ash didn’t find it funny. In fact, Maya might be onto something. “Why did Van Ness Media choose Harry?” she wondered aloud. “There must be tons of kids using Van Ness Movie Maker to report the news.”
“Let’s see,” said Brielle. She turned to her laptop and did a search for news shows made with van ness movie maker. Ash was happy to see Harry’s face replaced by the list of results, though she noticed that there was an ad for Van Ness Movie Maker on the top, along with an ad for a bike shop.
“That’s funny,” Maya said, pointing to the bike ad. “Since we reported on Lucy’s bike.”
“Oh yeah,” Brielle said as she scrolled down the page, “I’ve been seeing those ads everywhere ever since I edited that episode. Okay, look. Lots of news shows. This one seems like it’s in Baltimore too.” She clicked a link for a show called Eager Street, and they watched a few minutes. It was an in-depth report on pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, with a teenage anchor who was much more engaging and professional than Harry E. Levin or even, Ash had to admit, herself.
“Why would they pick Harry over this guy?” Ash said, stupefied. “How’d they choose any of the kids in the story?”
“Maybe kids submitted their projects,” Maya guessed, “or their teachers did.”
“Or maybe they only picked kids from schools where Van Ness Media sponsors something,” Brielle tried, “like they do at John Dos Passos.”
“If that’s true,” Ash said, “they should tell people that’s the reason. Otherwise it’s totally unfair. Ms. Sullivan would call it, um . . .”
“A conflict of interest,” Brielle finished.
“Yes!” Ash said. “A conflict of interest. Van Ness Media only picked these people because they sponsor things at their schools. It’s favoritism.”
“Maybe,” Maya reminded her. “We don’t know for sure.”
“Well, maybe,” Ash said, “we should call them and find out.”
CHAPTER 11
FEATURE:
Van Ness Media
Van Ness Media was closed over the weekend, so Ash called on Monday, right after she and Maya arrived at her house. But the phone number she found online brought her to a prerecorded menu of options, and none of them seemed quite right for her question. She hung up, frustrated.
“Who are you trying to call?” Olive asked. She was sitting on the living room floor, holding a growing number of wooden blocks, as Beckett was toddling around picking up blocks and handing them to her.
“Van Ness Media,” Ash told her.
“What’s that?” Olive asked.
Maya and Ash stared at her.
“You haven’t heard of Van Ness Media?” Ash said incredulously. “They make apps we use at school for, like, everything.”
“Really?” said Olive. “Hey, Baby Beck. Can you bring me my phone?”
Beckett looked at the blocks in his hand. Olive smiled at him and pointed to her phone, which was on the couch. Beckett carefully put the blocks down. Then he walked purposefully over to the couch, got Olive’s phone, and walked it to her. She thanked him and opened her browser. “Van . . . Ness . . . Media . . .” she said, typing. “Ugh, another ad for beauty products I can’t afford. You order expensive soap one time, and the internet thinks you’re rich.”
“Itch,” Beckett repeated.
“Rich!” Olive said dramatically. “Okay. I’m on the Van Ness Media webpage. Here we go. ‘Van Ness Media is the fastest growing creator of educational media software in the United States,’ ” she read. “ ‘Our innovative, user-friendly programs teach real-life digital media skills and allow children as young as three to create professional-quality television shows, movies, music, fine art, presentations, slideshows, newsletters, and more.’ ”
“You sound like you’re in an ad,” Maya said with a giggle.
“I wish,” Olive said. “Are they casting?” She flashed a smile and read the slogan from their website. “Van Ness Media. Powered by kids’ imaginations.”
“You really hadn’t heard of them before?” Ash asked. “Didn’t you use Van Ness Media when you were in school?”
“Nope,” Olive said to Ash, followed by “Thank you,” to Beckett, who’d resumed handing her more blocks. “I’m what—twelve years older than you and Maya? We didn’t have Van Ness anything when I was a kid.”
“What programs did you have on your tablets?” Maya asked.
“Maybe they had actual tablets,” Ash joked, “with chalk. And for writing on paper every desk had one of those dipping things . . . inkwells.”
“Inkwells?” Olive said in an old-lady voice. “I wish! We wrote on cave walls with pterodactyl blood!” Then, back to herself, she did some more searching on her phone. “Check it out. Van Ness Media has only been around ten years.”
She handed her phone to Ash, who took over reading aloud. “ ‘Van Ness Media was founded in 2009 by Maria Van Ness, a Baltimore native and graduate of the University of Maryland. After teaching middle school media classes for many years, she was unsatisfied with the software available to her students and set out to create her own products. What started as one video-editing program in one classroom has since grown into a full suite of educational software used in more than three hundred thousand classrooms nationwide.’ ”
“Wow,” Olive said. “That’s a lot of classrooms.”
“They’re still based in Baltimore, though,” Ash said. Harry E. Levin reminded her of that every single morning. “Their ‘world headquarters’ is in Harbor East. And listen to this! ‘Maria Van Ness lives in Federal Hill with her St. Bernard, named Bernard.’ ”
“Holy mol
y,” Maya said. “She lives in our neighborhood?”
“Ohhh,” Olive said, tapping two blocks together. “I read about that. She moved to Fed Hill recently, like a few weeks ago. I definitely remember reading something about a big-shot businesswoman buying a fancy row house near here.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her, though,” Ash said. “Have you?” She turned the phone around to show Olive and Maya a photo of a middle-aged woman with silver hair swooped across her forehead. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a black shirt, and a puffy black vest. The picture was taken at Federal Hill Park, which was right near Brielle’s house. Maria Van Ness was standing at the top of the hill by the big American flag. The downtown Baltimore skyline was behind her, and an enormous dog was by her side.
“That must be Bernard,” Maya said.
“Such an original name,” Olive said as she swooped up Beckett, who wanted to look at the photo too. “See the dog, Beckett?”
“Doggy,” he said, pointing. “Woof woof.”
“That’s right,” Olive said. “What does a . . . cow say?”
But Beckett was too busy pointing to the dog. “Woof woof,” he said again.
Ash still wanted to talk to someone at Van Ness Media to get to the bottom of their Young Creatives to Watch list. Why take her chances pressing various buttons on the phone when the founder and CEO was just across the harbor?
“Let’s go to the Van Ness Media headquarters now,” the anchor suggested. “We can say we’re doing a story for The Underground News. Maybe I can get an interview with Maria Van Ness herself!”
“You want to just go over there,” Olive said, “and ask to meet the head of the company?”
“Ash is brave like that,” Maya said proudly. “I don’t even like when my mom makes me order my own food at a restaurant.”
Ash knew that was true; she’d eaten out with Maya’s family. Her mom always made her tell the waiter what she wanted herself, even though it made Maya so nervous that she’d once blurted out “calamari” instead of “macaroni.” She was too embarrassed to correct herself or send it back. On the plus side, it turned out that fried squid tastes better than it sounds.
“They’re right there in Harbor East,” Ash said. “We can take the free water taxi. Beckett would love that. Wouldn’t you, Baby Beck? Boat ride?”
Beckett instantly forgot about the dog. Riding the water taxi was one of his favorite things to do. “Boat!” he said, clapping his hands.
Olive looked at her watch. “Well . . . Sadie’s having dinner at Lucy’s, and the water taxi runs until seven. . . .”
“Yes,” Ash hissed. She looked at Maya, eyebrows raised.
“I should probably check with my mom,” the camerawoman said. She fired off a text message, and got a reply less than a minute later. “She said it’s okay. She can even pick us all up on her way home from work.”
Olive shrugged. “All right. Let’s do it.”
Ash zipped up her boots, ready for action. Harry E. Levin’s show was “brought to you by Van Ness Media”? It was time for Ash to bring Van Ness Media to hers.
CHAPTER 12
Visit to Headquarters Leaves Reporters Stunned, Shocked
The Underground News team didn’t exactly look like a group of professional broadcast journalists as they disembarked the water taxi in Harbor East. Olive got off first, a giant diaper bag swinging from her shoulder. She unfolded the stroller and strapped in a squirming Beckett, which made his happy mood flip to anger. He kicked, reached toward the water taxi, and cried. The people waiting to board the boat made no secret of their impatience, but Ash still waited for Maya to get the camera on and ready before getting off the boat herself. It would make good background footage, as long as Brielle could edit out the sound of Beckett’s crying. Then Olive pulled up the exact location of Van Ness Media on her phone and pointed in the right direction. The four of them finally set off: anchorwoman, camerawoman, screaming baby, and babysitter.
Harbor East was much newer than Federal Hill. Instead of narrow brick row houses and small, cozy shops, there were glass skyscrapers, mall-size stores, and large restaurants. The sidewalks were full of people dressed in crisp business attire, and most of them walked briskly around The Underground News parade without even looking up from their phones. Ash knew it was just a coincidence that some big clouds had rolled in right when they’d gotten off the water taxi, but the drop in sunlight and temperature suddenly lent an ominous air to this outing. The anchorwoman shivered. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her school uniform khakis and stiffened her shoulders, but she kept walking.
After a brief stop by a large fountain, which, thankfully, made Beckett forget to be upset about leaving the boat, they walked two more blocks and found themselves outside a tall, modern building with the words Van Ness Media wrapped around the side. While Maya shot the building from different angles, Ash stared at the entrance and wondered what on earth she was going to say once she went inside. Was she really going to accuse the CEO of playing favorites? Was it too late to turn around?
“You’re going to be great,” Maya whispered, gently squeezing Ash’s arm.
As if on cue, a man in a suit opened the door from inside. He was about to walk through it, but he waited when he saw Ash and Maya, and said, “Coming in?”
Ash had no choice but to nod, thank him, and step inside.
“Whoa,” she whispered.
The lobby was cold and cavernous. The floors were made of polished concrete. Rough, blocky columns rose to the towering ceiling. To the right, two sleek leather sofas faced each other on a large, cow-skin rug. No one was sitting on the sofas, which wasn’t surprising; they didn’t look very comfortable. On the other side was a row of security turnstiles, like the ones Ash had gone through that time she rode the metro in Washington, DC. A group of men passed through on their way out, each pressing an electronic badge to a sensor in order to open the glass gate. Maya was scanning the large space, and Ash could tell that she was itching to capture it on camera, but after the dancing gym teacher incident, she wouldn’t dare record anything without explicit permission.
Ash’s eyes were drawn to a large TV screen on the wall that was tuned to CNN. That anchor was interviewing a woman with swooping silver hair. Underneath her were the words MARIA VAN NESS, FOUNDER AND CEO, VAN NESS MEDIA.
“Tell me,” said the CNN anchor, “why are so many schools choosing to buy your software when there are other programs with similar functionality, often available for free?”
“Great question,” Maria Van Ness replied. “First of all, I believe our software is the best digital media software out there, probably for any market, but without a doubt for the education market. It’s functional, it’s user-friendly, and it’s well-designed. But we are targeting the education market—kids ages three through eighteen—which means we have an extra responsibility to protect our users. Sure, there’s free software available. But it’s not really free. It’s being paid for by advertising, which means users are being constantly bombarded by ads, whether they realize it or not. And not realizing it is when it’s most harmful, especially to children. Van Ness Media products are proudly free of advertising. We aim to make money by selling software, not our customers’ attention spans. That’s important to schools, and rightfully so. Our commitment to having zero advertising within our products sets us apart, and it’s helped us grow.”
Ash liked Maria Van Ness. She was poised and eloquent and clearly very smart. She seemed to really care about kids, especially when she talked about that advertising stuff. Ash imagined herself sitting across from Maria Van Ness on CNN. She’d ask about a conflict of interest when it came to Harry, and Maria Van Ness would acknowledge her wrongdoing. I am sincerely sorry for not disclosing my connection to his show, the CEO would say graciously. Thank you, Ashley, for bringing this issue to the attention of the world.
Maya t
apped Ash’s shoulder, pulling her out of her daydream and back into the cold lobby. The camerawoman motioned to the far end of the room, where there was a long counter with three women behind it, two in business clothes and one in a security uniform. If Ash had any chance of turning that daydream into a reality, it would start with approaching that desk.
“Go ahead,” Olive said. “Beckett and I will wait here.”
They’ll be happy to talk to you, Ash told herself. Their company is “powered by kids’ imaginations.” She nodded at Maya, who faithfully followed her across the room.
“Can I help you?” one of the women asked.
“Um, yes. I’m Ashley Simon-Hockheimer from The Underground News. This is my friend Maya. She operates the camera.”
The receptionist raised one eyebrow over the wire frames of her large glasses. She seemed to be suppressing an amused smile, like Ash had just said her favorite food was “pasghetti.” Like having a TV show was cute. It wasn’t the right first impression from a company that taught kids how to make TV shows.
Ash stood up straighter and spoke more assertively. “We’d like to speak to someone about your feature on young creatives to watch. Would it be possible to interview Maria Van Ness?”
“You’d like to interview Maria Van Ness,” the woman said, no longer bothering to hide her amusement, “for . . . what did you say? A book report?”
Ash and Maya exchanged glances. Who said anything about a book report?
“No,” Ash said, trying to remain patient. “For our TV show. The Underground News. About your story about young creatives to watch. One of the people featured was from a show sponsored by Van Ness Media, and we think there might be a conflict of interest.”
The Renegade Reporters Page 5