Andy gave her the signal. Cassidy took a deep breath and said, “On the left side of your screen, you are looking at a live picture of the front door of the Converse household. We’ve been following this developing story over the last fourteen days: the missing Senate page Katie Converse. Today the parents of Katie Converse—whose disappearance has attracted national attention because of her friendship with her hometown senator—urged legislator Senator James Fairview of Portland, Oregon, to tell what he knows.”
As she was speaking, Cassidy knew they had cut to the B-roll footage of the Converses, wearing buttons with Katie’s picture, looking dazed and tired as they faced dozens of reporters. Cassidy pressed the plastic IFB earpiece—she had no idea what the initials stood for—deeper into her ear to make sure it was in securely. It had been cast for her ear, so in theory it was supposed to fit exactly, but sometimes she found she had to wiggle it. The IFB allowed her to hear instructions from the producer, questions from the anchor, and all the other sounds of the newscast. The curly cord—a light brown color that was more or less skin tone—ran down from her ear and was clipped to her back.
This part of the package had been put together earlier in the studio, so all Cassidy had to do was listen. On the IFB she heard Valerie say, “I am heartbroken, but I still remain optimistic. I believe, and I continue to hope and pray, that Katie will come back to us alive. But if Senator Fairview can shed any light on what has happened to her, we need him to.” The B-roll footage would be switching to the now ubiquitous shot of Katie handing materials to Senator Fairview as he spoke to the Senate.
Next Cassidy heard her own voice, recorded earlier in the studio. “The couple’s news conference came just after Mr. Fairview, who is married and has described Katie Converse simply as ‘a young woman he mentored,’ met with authorities. The fifty-two-year-old Republican has donated $10,000 of surplus campaign money to a reward fund for the return of Ms. Converse, who is seventeen. In a written statement issued today, he said he shared her parents’ worry and concern and offered his continued cooperation. The authorities say there is no evidence connecting him to Katie’s disappearance.
“But by some news accounts, there are records showing that Katie telephoned Mr. Fairview repeatedly. Katie also confided to friends that she had a boyfriend whose identity she did not disclose. Senator Fairview himself refuses to grant interviews. In a statement today, he attacked the ‘tabloidization’ of the case.”
Andy signaled that Cassidy was live on camera again.
She said, “Katie, who is scheduled to return to Portland next month to resume classes at Lincoln High School, has spent the fall as a Senate page in Washington DC.” She gestured to the house behind her, with the huge photo of Katie on the front door. “She returned here for Christmas break.
“Across America, there are hundreds of missing people. What makes Katie Converse different is her rumored romantic involvement with the senator from her district.” An hour earlier, the station’s lawyer had agreed, reluctantly, that this statement would probably not cause them to be sued for libel.
Brad, the anchor, said into her ear, “Cassidy, just to put a small piece of it in perspective, can you describe to us the media scene in front of the Converses’ home?”
As Andy panned the crowd of other reporters—the shot a sure sign of a news story that had no “new news”—Cassidy said, “There are literally dozens of media people here, but we work carefully not to intrude upon the Converses. We have regular conversations with the family to make sure that we don’t interfere with what they have to do and yet maintain a presence so that if they want to speak, we are here at a moment’s notice. And the Converses have been extremely willing to talk to us when they have something to say. Obviously, all the media attention benefits the case of their missing daughter.
“Now we are hearing that there is a negotiation going on. Fairview’s lawyer, Michael Stone, says he is willing to discuss the possibility of a polygraph. The negotiation has been stuck on the scope of the questioning. Stone says there have to be some limitations, but federal prosecuting attorney Allison Pierce has said that the authorities will decide what the questions are, and there will be no limitations. So it’s a bit of a stalemate.”
In her IFB, Brad said, “How is the hunt for Katie going? Have there been any new leads?”