The Mayor and the Gazette

[anneauclair]

There’s something interesting that I’ve noticed. Whenever the player has provided Mr Huffam’s Unexpurgated London Gazette with unflattering information about Mayor Jenny, this has without fail resulted in hostile coverage of her administration by the Gazette. Equally interesting, this hostility appears rather partisan on the Gazette’s part, with the paper seemingly going out of its way to damage her administration regardless of merit.

The first instance of this was with the release of the Mayoral Opportunity Card, where the player is given the option of joining a plot against the Mayor, spying on her staff and then leaking the evidence to the press.

Certainly, no one was unusually garrulous at an ecclesiastical supper with the religious correspondent of the Gazette. But everyone is appalled that a journalist would publish such unsubstantiated gossip. The timing is particularly unfortunate – the Mayor finds her policy unveiling overshadowed by several days of scandalous headlines. There is, of course, no one to blame.

Journalists don’t determine headlines or decide how much coverage something gets. Headlines and coverage are the prerogative of editors and owners. The Gazette devoting several nights’ headlines to unsubstantiated (albeit true) gossip instead of the Mayor’s policy unveiling is a decision that could only come straight from the top.

Next we have the encounter with the Mayor on Mutton Island. If the player decided to chat with the lurking Gazette reporter, then the result was a very hostile editorial directed against the Mayor:

[quote=]The reporter’s notebook is quickly filled. She even resorts to scribbling key points on her arm. That might explain the somewhat confused editorial in the next day’s Gazette:
‘Mayor: &quotI can’t fix London!&quot Sinning Jenny plans to relocate Londoners to Mutton Island. Forced into a tiny lighthouse! Trapped in destitution! Masters unavailable for comment.’ Well, not quite what you said. The Mayor spends several weeks denying the allegations. After drafting a complicated legal action against the paper, the matter is abruptly dropped. Mr Huffam’s editorial on the subject is frustratingly circumspect.[/quote]
Editorials represent the opinion of the paper as a whole and are again decided upon at the highest levels, the same as with headlines and coverage. So while the hack scribbler acquired the dubious scoop, it was Mr Huffam’s decision to publish it in this way, despite its evident unreliability and seemingly libelous nature. It was also his decision to pursue the matter for weeks.

Lastly, there’s what happened if you gave Mr Huffam’s the Mayor’s confession after Hallowmas:

For the next few days, the Gazette is scrupulous to avoid mention of the Mayor or her capable aide. It does, however, cast the Mayor’s plans for a Finishing School in a deeply sceptical light. Mr Huffam is always neutral in political matters. This does not mean he does not have Views.

This time it was made explicit that the unfriendly coverage was entirely because Mr. Huffam personally disapproved of Sinning Jenny’s past dishonesty. Unable to attack the Mayor directly as the information came from a Hallowmas confession, he had his paper passive aggressively cast shade on one of the Mayor’s major projects.

I don’t think Mr. Huffam has any sort of political agenda in repeatedly going after the Mayor. I just think he kind of dislikes her and is inclined to believe the worst.
edited by Anne Auclair on 1/22/2017

[Diptych]

Pardon my pedantry, but his name is “Huffam”.

[anneauclair]

@Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook

Pardon my pedantry, but his name is &quotHuffam&quot.

Thanks ^_^

He has a strange name, doesn’t he? :P
edited by Anne Auclair on 1/21/2017

[zoedegeest]

@Anne Auclair

[quote=Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook]Pardon my pedantry, but his name is &quotHuffam&quot.

Thanks ^_^

He has a strange name, doesn’t he? :P[/quote]

If you are the naughty sort, don’t forget the name he is better known for!

That’s to say, he likes being Dicken to Jenny.