I’m no idiot. I want these people tolikeme. I’m not happy with this network, but if I candrag them kicking and screaming toward more centrist political views, even a little, I know our numbers will climb once more. That’s why I’m going out of my way to present the incoming governor in as positive a light as possible, finding points that even most hard right-wingers can agree on with liberals, like education, infrastructure, and emergency preparedness.
Right now, we’re hemorrhagingviewers, especially in swing-state Florida. If the results of this election—which resulted in wins for a record number of Independent and third-party lawmakers not just across the Sunshine State but across the country—don’t shake up the network, then nothing will. Especially when looked at from the perspective that more voters than ever are either registering with smaller political parties, or switchingfromDorRtoI. So much so that, here in Florida, there is now a large and vocal non-partisan grassroots movement to end the state’s closed primary system. They have a good chance of getting a ballot referendum passed and adding it to our state’s constitution.
Yes, I said “our.” Because I’m a native son of this batcrap crazy peninsula, which makes it even more imperative to me personally thatI don’t piss off this fledgling administration before they take office.
Now if the network will actually let me do my fuckingjob, instead of trying to force me into bullshit tabloid territory, I might have a chance to redeem their brand if I can get enough of the other anchors on my side. I’m not the only one tired of their bullshit, but I’m also not the only one with a non-compete clause.
We’re all on a sinking ship. Unless I can get everyone to start bailingwithme, we’re all going to drown.
* * * *
By the time I conclude our interview twenty minutes later, I’m sweating bullets but Evans looks chill as fuck. Like she could hold a glass of Macallan in her hand and freeze it solid with a smile.
A glass of Macallan I feel like I need to chug, right about now.
Once I’m given thesign that we’re clear and off the air, I reach back and switch off my mic pack before I drop my voice. “Governor Evans, again, thank you for today. I’mreallysorry I got off on the wrong foot with Governor Taylor. It was inexcusable. I hope I can earn your trust and build a solid working relationship with you and your administration.”
Yes, it’s desperation, and I won’t even deny it. I’m tiredof bending over for this goddamned network, who likes to use false balance in the extreme to pretend they’re reliable and trustworthy and representing the masses, when they’re not.
Maybe it’s time I start working for my own best interests. I regret ever coming to work for them to start with. I made a lot of money, but the trade-offs, in retrospect, have not been worth it.
Not at all.
SusannahEvans gives me another once-over. Out of the corner of my eye I see Draymond Garcia take a step toward us. Without breaking eye contact with me, Evans makes a subtle gesture toward the man, which pulls him up short.
In this way, she totally channels her husband, Carter, and I suppress an involuntary shiver.
First, she reaches back and switches off her mic pack. Then her voice drops, barely audible.
“I don’t give second chances, so keep that in mind. Today worked well. I’m not looking for preferential treatment, Mr. Markos, merely professionalism. I don’t mind tough or adversarial questions, either. That’s part of the game. But you pull a stunt on me like you did on Governor Taylor that time? You’ll regret it for the rest of your professional life.”
I nod. “Yes, ma’am. I don’t share allof my network’s views, but I have to be careful how I present them.”
I don’t understand why the corner of her mouth quirks up in a smile, but she offers me her hand. Her grip is surprisingly firm, but then again, she’s been involved in politics literally since she was a child because of her father. At forty-three she’s less than a year older than me, but she looks ten years younger and has thepolitical knowledge, cunning, and acumen of someone twice her age.
“Then keep up the good work, Mr. Markos, and you and I will get along just fine.”
Five minutes later, she and Garcia have departed, headed for their next interview, and my crew is breaking down equipment.
Lou, my producer, walks over. “Excellent interview. What’d she say to you there at the end?”
Why lie? “I apologized againfor putting my foot in my mouth with Taylor that time.”
Lou snorts. “Always hated that fucker. Katzen, I mean, not Taylor. Sorry.”
Lou was back in DC in the studio’s control booth that infamous day, working as an assistant producer. He’d immediately stood up to Katzen and tried to get my mic cut, or to switch to a commercial or promo bump, but it’d happened too fast.
“I knew what you meant.”A wave of exhaustion washes through me, an adrenaline crash, no doubt.
We’re done here, so I take a moment to duck into the lobby’s men’s room and remove my stupid contacts before I do anything else. I replace them with my glasses, which are far more comfortable. When I look in the mirror, I see my normal grey-blue eyes staring back at me. I hate the blue contacts that turn my eyes somethingclose to turquoise.
That’s a holdover from the first on-air slot I held at my old network, FNB’s sister network USNN. My previous network insisted I needed colored contacts to emphasize my eye color, instead of wearing my glasses, and I didn’t know enough back then to understand that I could refuse to do it. I’d wanted my break too much to sink my opportunity over something as trivial as that.
I’m not fond of contacts to start with, but it was one of those battles that wasn’t worth fighting. It wasn’t in my contract specifically back then, but fuck me, it ended up in my last one, along with the non-compete—another reason I kick myself in the ass for not knowing any better when I signed it. I suppose after all these years on the air it’s easier to get along than make unnecessary waves.To pick and choose the battles truly worth fighting.
My next on-camera appearance isn’t until the noon hour, when I’ll do a short remote promo on their show. That’s in addition to a couple of bumps for my show tonight, which I’ll film after lunch, along with working on the wraparound and repackaging the interview to air portions tonight, and a full-length version at a later time.
Tonight myshow is being filmed here in downtown Tampa, going live at seven Eastern time. We’re setting up in Ft. Brooke Park near the Riverside Walk, not far from the ice hockey arena. There’s a Lightning home game tonight, and the network is hoping for a large live audience presence. I’ll be interviewing Tampa’s mayor, two newly elected county commissioners, and US Senator ShaeLynn Samuels, who representsFlorida.
Samuels wasn’t up for re-election this cycle, but there are rumors aplenty she’s possibly eyeing a run for POTUS in two years. Which would be huge news, if she is, because otherwise, she should be gearing up for her re-election run. Except she hasn’t formed an exploratory committee if she is going to declare to run for POTUS, and she hasn’t officially kicked off her re-election campaign.Her previous campaign manager, who helped her get elected to the Senate in the first place, was a friend of her mother’s—State Senator Marlene Samuels—and now works for the governor of Georgia.
I’ve interviewed ShaeLynn Samuels before, several times. She’s a Democrat, and rightfully views me with mistrust. Still, our previous interactions have always been professional and cordial, so I hope thisone will be, too.
On the heels of my successful interview with Lieutenant-Governor Evans, I hope I can slowly peck my way back into if not the good graces of Democratic and progressive Independent lawmakers, maybe at least I can make it onto their interview calendars.
My career and future depend on it.
