The Means Read Online Free Page A

condition on it. He knows there are still people smart enough at his competitors to hire her if they see the resume tape. “One more thing. I need to fill this spot, so you have forty-eight hours to accept.”
    â€œOkay.” She decided earlier that she would take any offer without pushing a negotiation on terms. Now that she has an offer, her instinct to drive a better deal is kicking in. She knows she’ll be a success. She can push either for more money or fewer years. “Is the three-year commitment negotiable?”
    â€œWe like three-year deals.” He pauses. “You don’t have an agent.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œFriendly piece of advice. Get one.”
    I tried, she almost says and doesn’t.
    â€œI’ve got a forty-eight-hour window for you, so it won’t matter for this deal, but you should get one soon. He’ll tell you that three years is standard.” He continues. “Today was a plane crash. That’s newsworthy but not consistent. The only consistent news we do is politics. Are you political?”
    â€œNot really.”
    â€œBone up. Get steeped in the news, especially politics. I’ll email you a few websites that you should read every day, and watch cable prime time. Bounce between channels and start with ours.”
    â€œGot it.”
    â€œAlright.”
    â€œDavid, I appreciate the call. Can I call you at close of business tomorrow?”
    â€œSure. One more thing I want you to think about. This is UBS News. You can work packages for the network morning show and for the network evening news. No show has bigger ratings. Bigger exposure. Nobody. I also have UBS-24. Twenty-four-hour cable news where you can do legal, political, and general news reporting. There’s a lot of real estate to cover here. Nobody has more real estate than I do. That kind of opportunity for growth and exposure is an important thing for you to think about as you start your career in this business.”
    He’s selling me! I can’t believe this, she thinks. “I appreciate that, David. I also appreciate the opportunity.”
    â€œTalk to you tomorrow, Samantha.” He hangs up.
    â€œI got the job,” she says to her martini.

2
    â€œSamantha, it’s Megan Ruiz from booking.” Samantha has met Megan in person twice now and likes her. When meeting other female on-air talent, she always gets an up-and-down from them the way she would from a drunk guy in a bar. Whether it’s from a place of competition or benign curiosity, it’s second nature to them. Megan isn’t that way. She doesn’t preoccupy herself with things other than getting the bookings done. She seems like a nice, hardworking person.
    â€œHow are you?”
    â€œGood, thanks.” She seems rushed, which she is. “ Sunrise America wants to use you for a piece tomorrow. Their booker asked me to get in touch with you. A Bronx couple won the largest lottery payout ever, over one point two billion. We’re going to roll a truck for you in an hour to do a pretape with them to air tomorrow at seven forty-five a.m. You need to be back on location tomorrow morning to intro the package and do some banter with Mike.”
    â€œGreat. Tell me where to go.”
    â€œStop by hair and makeup in studio if you want. You should have time. One of the show producers will get you and take you out.”
    â€œOkay, thanks.”
    â€œSamantha.”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œYou’re doing good work. You’re impressing people and they want to use you. That’s a good sign for you. A package for the network morning show is a big deal.”
    â€œThanks, Megan.” I love compliments from other women, she thinks.
    An hour later she’s in a truck with six other people heading to the Bronx. She doesn’t even know what they all do. The Sunrise America staff is huge, more than a hundred people.
    She learns one of the guys is a writer for the show