VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: But here’s what Maria Van Ness had to say when I confronted her about this myself.
VIDEO
Maria Van Ness in Federal Hill Park
AUDIO
MARIA VAN NESS: Developing brains are very impressionable. That’s why they’re so valuable to advertisers.
I thought I’d stay out of the whole thing, but I couldn’t let such a valuable opportunity go to waste.
ANC: You’re lying to people. And you’re trying to stop us from telling the truth. The three of us—we all just got locked out of our Van Ness Media accounts for violating the terms of service.
MARIA VAN NESS: I’m not lying to anyone. If you three were using Movie Maker, you agreed to the terms, and to the privacy policy. Not just you, but hundreds of thousands of users, all over the country. It’s all written down for everyone to see.
VIDEO
Maria Van Ness in Federal Hill Park cont.
AUDIO
MARIA VAN NESS: I make the best digital media software for the education market, hands down. Surely, you agree? I’d like to see you make your little show with a different editing program. Kids use my creations to make things like—what is it?—The Undercover News. And I use their creations to fund the operation and grow the company. Everyone wins.
ANC: But . . .
MARIA VAN NESS: But what? Privacy? No one cares about privacy. Not if you give them a good product in exchange. Some people think they care, but not enough to do anything about it. Right?
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m Ashley Simon-Hockheimer with the Renegade Reporters, and this is The Underground News.
CHAPTER 33
Community Reacts to News
Once The Underground News episode wrapped up, The News at Nine anchors were back on the screen, looking serious and somber. “Thank you to The Underground News team for that important report. I’m Damion Skinner.”
“I’m Harry E. Levin. This has been The News at Nine, brought to you by Baltimore-based Van Ness Media.”
When the show ended, everyone in Mr. Brooks’s classroom, including Mr. Brooks, looked at Ash, stunned. Some of them applauded. But Ash didn’t feel proud or embarrassed or anything, really. It was like she wasn’t a person, but a piece of furniture, lifelessly taking in what was going on around her.
When Harry and Damion arrived, Mr. Brooks led everyone in a discussion about the report. Kids had a lot to say. And not just in their class. Other teachers talked about it with their classes too. Kids talked about it during lunch and recess, then went home and talked about it with their families. Parents logged onto the school’s online portal, or to The Underground News YouTube channel, and watched the episode themselves. Many of them called Mr. Carver and demanded answers. Mr. Carver called the district headquarters and demanded answers. The superintendent sent an email to parents with a bland statement from Van Ness Media, everyone assuring one another that they’d look into what was going on.
They weren’t the only ones who planned to look into it.
On Wednesday night, Ash’s dads received an email.
Dear Mr. Simon and Mr. Hockheimer,
My name is Tenley Nay, and I’m a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. My son is in third grade at John Dos Passos, and I got your contact info from the school portal.
I watched your daughter’s excellent report on Van Ness Media. It was investigative journalism at its finest! I’m digging a bit more and writing a story for the Sun. I’d love to interview Ashley, with your permission, of course. Please call or email me asap.
T.N.
Ash replied herself. She knew exactly what she wanted to say.
Dear Ms. Nay,
My dads gave permission for me to do the interview. I didn’t investigate the story by myself, though. I had lots of help from Maya Joshi-Zachariah and Brielle Diamond. Harry E. Levin and Ms. Sullivan helped me put it on The News at Nine. I hope we can help with your article.
Sincerely,
ASH
CHAPTER 34
Regional Newspaper Amplifies Story
On Saturday evening, Dad, Abba, and Sadie all came running into the bathroom while Ash was giving Beckett his bath. “Breaking news alert from The Baltimore Sun!” Dad announced, holding out his phone.
Ash gasped. She dried her hands on a towel and took Dad’s phone to read the notification aloud. “ ‘Breaking news: Sixth-grade journalists expose Van Ness Media software for secretly storing, selling kids’ personal information.’ ”
“That’s you!” Sadie screeched. “You’re the sixth-grade journalists! And they’re storing and selling my personal information!”
“I wouldn’t be so excited about that second part, Sadie,” Abba said with a chuckle.
“I don’t care,” Sadie shouted. “We’re famous!”
“Fay-us!” shouted Beckett, splashing water everywhere.
Ash clicked on the alert to bring up the story. Her own reporting was in The Baltimore Sun. She scrolled down to see how long the article was. It was long. There was a picture of her with Maya and Brielle, taken by a photographer that the Sun had sent over to her house yesterday. There were two images from episodes of The Underground News, one with the logo Maya had drawn and one with Ash in their basement studio. There was a shot of Harry and Damion in The News at Nine studio, and one of the Van Ness Media building in Harbor East. The last photo was from the footage of Maria Van Ness in Federal Hill Park, the CEO standing on the hill with her headquarters in the background.
Dad offered to finish bathing Beckett so that Ash could read the article in its entirety. She planted herself on the floor outside the bathroom and read it twice. Tenley Nay’s reporting was thorough and incriminating, exposing the names of the data brokers with which Van Ness Media partnered. She talked about the possibility of Van Ness Media having violated something called COPPA, which stood for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Ms. Nay didn’t just write about Maria Van Ness and her shady practices. She wrote about Ash and Maya and Brielle and how they’d uncovered what was going on at Van Ness Media first.
Inside the bathroom, Sadie was shouting and Beckett was splashing. Downstairs, Abba was reading the article on the computer and texting grandparents. Ash sat and breathed, a bubble of pride filling her chest.
Dad poked his head into the hallway. “Did they get everything right?”
“Yeah,” Ash said. “For the most part.”
“Maria Van Ness thought no one would listen to you, huh? You certainly proved her wrong about that.”
“Thanks, Dad.” The balloon in Ash’s chest swelled even bigger. But then it started to deflate, ever so slightly. It was one thing to make people aware of what Van Ness Media was doing. It was another to know that they were going to stop.
“She also said nobody would care,” Ash said to Dad.
He kissed the top of Ash’s head. “I have a feeling she’ll be wrong about that too. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
They didn’t have to wait long.
Just two days later, while she and Maya were waiting to cross Light Street on their way home from school, Ash got a phone call from a number that looked familiar.
“Hi, Ash, it’s Tenley Nay from The Baltimore Sun.”
Ash looked at Maya. “Tenley Nay!” she mouthed.
“Holy moly,” Maya whispered.
Ash stuck a finger in her left ear and pressed her phone closer to her right. “Hi,” she said.
“Listen,” said Ms. Nay. “I just got word from my contact at North Avenue that Baltimore City Public Schools is ending its contract with Van Ness Media, effective immediately. They
may renew the agreement eventually, but only if Van Ness Media agrees to stop tracking and selling its users’ personal information.”
Ash stopped walking. “For real?”
“For real. They’re going to send out an email to all the families in the district tomorrow. I’m going to get a story in tomorrow’s paper, and I know everyone up on TV Hill is going to jump on it too. But since you and your team are to thank for this development, I thought it was only fair that The Underground News break it first.”
Ash stood on the street corner, warm amazement edging out the cold November air.
“So, what do you think?” Ms. Nay asked. “Can you and Maya and Brielle act fast?”
Ash was in too much shock to respond. A real, grown-up reporter was offering to let her break a real news story before anyone else. She stood frozen on the corner until an ambulance passed by, sirens blaring, and jolted her back to reality. “Yes,” she replied. “We’ll do it.”
“Great,” Ms. Nay said. “I’m going to text you the number for my contact at City Schools. She’s waiting for your call. I’ve got to get my story in print and online tomorrow, so you’ve got until tonight if you want to break it first.”
“Okay,” Ash said, starting a mental list of all the things she and her friends would have to do to get their episode out so quickly. “I’m on it.”
Maya tugged on Ash’s arm and stared at her expectantly.
“Can I give your number to some local TV anchors too?” Ms. Nay asked. “Check with your dads.”
“Um, sure. I’ll check.”
“Oh! Keep an eye on your email. I’m expecting confirmation of some other news any minute now. From a contact at the Environmental Control Board.”
Ash had no clue what that meant, but she could tell Ms. Nay was smiling when she said it.
“Send me the link to your episode when it’s live.”
“Okay,” Ash said again, her head spinning.
“Great. Let’s get to work.” Ms. Nay paused long enough for Ash to think she’d hung up, only she was still in too much shock to move the phone from her ear. That was good, because the Sun reporter had one last thing to say: “And Ashley? Congratulations.”
THE UNDERGROUND NEWS, EPISODE 5
REPORTER: Ashley Simon-Hockheimer
VIDEOGRAPHER: Maya Joshi-Zachariah
EDITOR: Brielle Diamond
STORY SCOUT: Sadie Simon-Hockheimer
SLUG: Canceled contract
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: Breaking news: Baltimore City Schools has canceled its contract with Van Ness Media, effective immediately. I’m Ashley Simon-Hockheimer with the Renegade Reporters, and you’re watching The Underground News.
VIDEO
Intro and Credits
AUDIO
NONE
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: About two weeks ago, The Underground News reported that Van Ness Media, the fastest-growing educational software company in the United States, has been keeping detailed profiles on all of its school-age users and selling that information to advertisers.
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera cont.
AUDIO
ANC: CEO Maria Van Ness confessed that to me, Ashley Simon-Hockheimer, and with the help of anchor Harry E. Levin, we aired that confession on my school’s news show, The News at Nine. That led to an article in The Baltimore Sun and other news media. As more people became aware of what Van Ness Media was doing, they began to call their schools and ask that something change.
I am now able to report that Baltimore City Public Schools has canceled its contract with Van Ness Media, effective immediately. Here with more is Head of Technology for Baltimore City Schools, Jennifer Bishop.
VIDEO
Jennifer Bishop in Office
AUDIO
JENNIFER BISHOP: The safety and privacy of our students is of the utmost importance. For that reason, we are putting a hold on the use of all Van Ness Media products in all of our classrooms, effective immediately. It’s unfortunate, because Van Ness Media makes good software that teaches important twenty-first-century skills. But storing and selling our students’ personal details and locations for marketing purposes is unacceptable, especially when one of the reasons we selected this software in the first place is that it claimed to be free of advertising.
VIDEO
Anchor with Jennifer Bishop in Office
AUDIO
ANC: Were you aware of the terms of service and privacy policy with Van Ness Media?
JENNIFER BISHOP: I’ll leave that question for our legal department. But I will say this: Now that we know what’s going on, we are not going to stand for it. It’s our job to educate the children of Baltimore City, but we’re also responsible for their safety while they’re in school, and that includes their safety online.
ANC: Do you think you might allow students to use Van Ness Media software in the future?
JENNIFER BISHOP: We are willing to consider it, but only if Van Ness Media is willing to change their privacy policy and terms of service to guarantee they will not track, store, save, share, or sell any personal information about our users.
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: We are already getting word that schools in surrounding counties are ending their contracts as well. Subscribe to this channel for more updates on this developing story and other important news from the best sixth-grade journalists in Baltimore City.
Before we sign off, we have one more piece of breaking news about the Van Ness Media CEO, Maria Van Ness. This news is straight from the Baltimore City Environmental Control Board, and here to report it is The Underground News Story Scout, my sister, Sadie.
VIDEO
Sadie in Studio
AUDIO
SADIE: Hi, I’m Sadie Simon-Hockheimer. Thanks to video evidence from this show, the “dog poo bandit” has finally been caught.
VIDEO
Image of Citation
AUDIO
SADIE voiceover: Federal Hill resident Maria Van Ness has been issued a three-hundred-dollar citation for failing to pick up after her pet.
VIDEO
Sadie in Studio
AUDIO
SADIE: Remember, folks, it’s a crime to not scoop your pet’s poop!
VIDEO
Anchor on Camera
AUDIO
ANC: I’m Ashley Simon-Hockheimer with the Renegade Reporters, and you’re watching The Underground News.
CHAPTER 35
LIVE: Ash on Air
It was a real scramble for the Underground News team to get the episode filmed, edited, parent-approved, and live by the end of the day. Since it was a Friday and Brielle was in charge of the last part of the process, her parents agreed to have the Renegade Reporters spend the night at their house. The three girls had big plans for their impromptu sleepover, but by the time they hit the upload button on the completed episode, it was nearly midnight, and it took all their fading energy to crawl into their sleeping bags and say good night.
They didn’t wake up until ten the next morning. When they went downstairs, Brielle’s parents and grandfather greeted them with waffles, hot chocolate, and three paper copies of The Baltimore Sun, where the news of Van Ness Media’s canceled contract was on the front page. “It’s official, girls,” her granddad said, raising his coffee mug for a toast. “You made something happen.”
When Abba came to pick up Ash and Maya at eleven, he was carrying a list of names and phone numbers. “WYPR wants you for a radio interview sometime today. While you’re in the studio, they said you can also record a segment for tomorrow morning’s Weekend
Edition, which broadcasts nationally.”
Brielle’s eyes bugged out. “Nationally?”
“Yep,” said Abba. “On stations all over the country.”
Ash’s waffle did a backflip in her stomach. She was going to be on NPR!
“You got a TV request too,” Abba continued. “WJZ wants to interview the whole team on the five o’clock news.”
Maya, who’d been squeezing her friends’ hands tighter with the mention of each media outlet, limply let go.
“You should do it, Brielle,” her mom said.
Brielle looked like her mom had said she should tap-dance with a banana on her head. “Did you see my five seconds on The Underground News? My face? My voice? I’m going to stay behind the camera for the rest of my life.”
“But we’ll get to be on the real news!” Ash said. “It’s a dream come true.”
“Your dream come true,” Brielle corrected. “But it would be cool to see their studio, with all the equipment. Maya gets it. Right, Maya?”
But to everyone’s surprise, Maya gave the slightest of shrugs and said, quietly but clearly, “I’ll do the interview.”
Ash stared at her best friend, the same girl who used to be too shy to order her own food at a restaurant. “Amazing!” Ash said, throwing her arms around her and jumping up and down. “You’re going to be awesome!”
And so, at five o’clock, the Renegade Reports found themselves in a real TV studio. The cameraman showed Maya his setup. Brielle got a tour of the control booth. And Ash sat, for the first time, behind a real anchor’s desk. She basked in the lights, the cameras, the action.
The Renegade Reporters Page 15