[RFC] ZNN

[Warringer]

ZNN
ZNN is the premier news station in Fenspace and one of the more trusted sources of informations by most parts of the general public. It is known for a largely neutral stance between factions, but also to be biased against Haruhi Suzumiya, through not Great Justice itself.
History
ZNN started out as a small news blog in 2009 when Karen Corwin was forced to get into Fenspace as a result of a student prank that went wrong left her biomodded. Being a busty bunny girl she had to work in some odd jobs while in her free time, trying to finish her Master thesis in Journalism and running ZNN, a news blog in the style of Huffington Post.
In early 2010 she was joined by a contributor going by the alias of Walter Wilcox, who provided articles that contained very accurate analysis of current dale and fen situations, sometimes in relation to the past, making readers of ZNN believe that Walter Wilcox was an older fen.
The first big thing that catapulted ZNN into the open and paved its way to the future was the Boskone War and the first daily live stream.
The ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ life stream provided people with a central show to get updates about the conflict in a critical and analytical way that in parts contradict official press releases from Great Justice and Haruhi Suzumiya. ZNN was especially critical about Suzumiya and the way she handled Great Justice.
While that was nothing new the ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ were especially known to be the first appearance of the AI Walter Cronkite in an environment that was largely looking like a CBS new studio during the late 60s to early 70s.
The fact that it was Walter Cronkite, regardless of him being an AI, made the life stream one of the most trusted in Fenspace among the older Fen who grew up with the original and a good amount of younger ones.
Sometimes during the war ZNN got an anonymous donation that allowed Cronkite to get an android body and prepared the station for the future.
The next big event that made ZNN into what it is today was the now legendary ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ life stream from Serenety Con, where Cronkite turned the show into a life commentary of the Battle of Serenity Valley, and earning him the first Fenspace Pulitzer Award.
From there on ZNN was a rising star and began to expand its online and live stream program. The ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ were replaced by the ‘ZNN Evening News’ hosted by Cronkite and ZNN gained the ‘ZNN Morning News’ hosted by Karen Corwin.
Over the next years more specialist shows were added to the raising rooster of ZNN, drawing in advertisement customers, which allowed them to expand more.
Today, ZNN has at least small offices in all major Fen settlements and is one of the places where freelance journalists can get a major publicity for their work.

Trivia

• In 2017 Günter Wallraff, a German investigative undercover journalist, published a report about the Turnerite habitat of ‘New Stepford’ in the ZNN news blog. It lead to a large scale intervention against the habitat by Great Justice and Space Partol, freeing a large number of biomods and AIs.
• Maico Tange is known to work for ZNN at times, if she needs the cash.
• ZNN was named after a CNN expy from ‘NCIS’ and ‘JAG’.
• Walter managed to silence everyone at the Fnord Hearing of the Joint Committee on Extraterrestrial Security in Washington with a single sentence when the press was allowed to ask questions. “Walter Cronkite of ZNN. Please tell me, Senator Kellerman, have you ever heard of Senator McCarthey?” (optional depending on what Mal says)

[HRogge]

"We will sue you if you print this!"

"Sorry Sir, we are a Fenspace news station...

we don't print...

but you can be sure that you can see all of this on our blog, in our video stream and of course in our Youtube archive.

Yes, that will include this stupid phone call.

Have a nice day."

[Dartz]

ZNN were the first media outfit to reveal Senator Chris Ferguson's regular attendance of Genaros 'Puppet Parties', while at the same time calling for tougher restrictions and trade sanctions between the United States and Fenspace.

(At least I think he's not a real senator. The name was in the googledoc)
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[ECSNorway]

Cronkite, as an AI, is more interested in finding and sharing the truth than in using permutations of it to play power games. This means that unlike 'daneside media, he actually makes a sincere effort to avoid political bias in his reporting and to apologize honestly when it goes wrong. This has earned him the respect of many factions among the Fen who have Issues with 'daneside media of various unacknowledged political biases such as CNN and FOX. (It has also earned the network accusations of severe bias from both, but most fen tend to ignore these. Or treat them as signs of respect.)

Respect for Cronkite's reporting and the value of his honesty is perhaps one of the few things that Chris Marsden and Natalie Baker have ever agreed on without promptly turning, glaring at each other, and hissing like scalded cats.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Warringer]

Fun fact: There are rumors that Cronkite is actually the real Cronkite reborn as AI, because the afterlife was too boring and Fenspace just had so many things to do for him. He does neither confirm nor deny those rumors through.

[robkelk]

Sometimes during the war ZNN got an anonymous donation that allowed Cronkite to get an android body and prepared the station for the future.

While StellviaCorp is the usual suspect for such anonymous donations, I'd prefer it be somebody else this time. Noah wouldn't want even a hint of perceived bias toward his company to be present in ZNN - or in any other news service, for that matter.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

Walter managed to silence everyone at the Fnord Hearing of the Joint Committee on Extraterrestrial Security in Washington with a single sentence when the press was allowed to ask questions. “Walter Cronkite of ZNN. Please tell me, Senator Kellerman, have you ever heard of Senator McCarthey?” (optional depending on what Mal says)

Unfortunately (from what I've been given to understand) congressional hearings aren't press conferences, and so the fourth estate doesn't get to ask questions during them. However, if Walter's mobile enough he could always try and ambush Kellerman outside the hearing room.

(Kellerman's reply would be "Of course I have, sir. Have you ever heard of the Rosenbergs?")

(Chairman Fnord's reply wasn't recorded, he was too busy laughing his ass off to say anything coherent.)
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[HRogge]

The next big event that made ZNN into what it is today was the now legendary ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ life stream from Serenety Con, where Cronkite turned the show into a life commentary of the Battle of Serenity Valley, and earning him the first Fenspace Pulitzer Award.

We need to revive the "Serenity Con" thread again.

[Rakhasa]

robkelk wrote:

---

Warringer wrote:

---

Sometimes during the war ZNN got an anonymous donation that allowed Cronkite to get an android body and prepared the station for the future.

While StellviaCorp is the usual suspect for such anonymous donations, I'd prefer it be somebody else this time. Noah wouldn't want even a hint of perceived bias toward his company to be present in ZNN - or in any other news service, for that matter.

Genesis C&D would not want hints of bias, either, but around mid-war would be the time he is finishing Marduk city and Oscar would be interested in increasing the city services. He could donate one of the empty palaces (built for decorative purposes and to someday serve as corporate headquarters when companies move into the city) to serve as the base for ZNN Luna ("take that, Port Luna and Kandor! No, of course it is for purely altruistic motives, honest"...)
Now than I think on it, the "donor" may be one, or several, AI/androids who want to help oe of the most visible members of their kind. The war should be also the time when Bernie gets his own android body, and he owns half the company; for that matter, Noah's girls aren't poor, either. The donor does not need to be a corporate mogul, other people, wich have no interest in earning press bias, can donate too. Or even create a fund to collect donatives.

[robkelk]

... for that matter, Noah's girls aren't poor, either. ...

True - on paper. What they do with their money keeps them from being as conspicuously wealthy as Noah, though.

Yayoi: The writeup for the Crystal Millennium already says what she did with her early fortune. That donation of her early seed capital to the Senshi means she's comfortably well-off, not filthy rich.
Sora: Being in the VVS now, Sora ignores her wealth as much as possible.
Kohran: Mad Science isn't cheap...
Leda: ... nor is Real Science...
Takami: ... or a really good computer system...
Yomiko: ... or a well-stocked library ...
Miyuri: ... or a really good observatory. All of them have plenty of places to spend their money.
Yuu and Helen: Don't really know that they're rich - Helen because she's too young, and Yuu because she's never been wealthy before joining the family.
Kagome and Safety: Hmmmmm... must ponder here. It's possible that either or both of them might have made part of that donation.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[ECSNorway]

Random suggestion of the "it could never happen, except that it could" variety: The android body was a joint gift from Marsden and Baker. Marsden, at least, is Comfortably Rich, and funneling the money through Pinko Baker would tweak his sense of snark.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Rakhasa]

True - on paper. What they do with their money keeps them from being as conspicuously wealthy as Noah, though.

Yes, but I meant than you do not need to be a millionare to be able to afford an android body in the first place. And you do not need for it to be paid by only one person, wich probably will have personal (even if "good") interests; case in point, Oscar: while he likes the idea of independent news service, and has no much interest in earning media influence or bias, he did not donate a building just because, he also wanted to atract publicity and investements in Marduk.
Someone (not necesarily someone with money, fame or connections, fenspace is an internet society) could create a fenfacebook group for the ZNN Droid Proyect, with a donations account. A Belt miner with interest in real, honest Fen news may not be able to afford a whole new body, but he will be able to afford a few credits for the fund.

[HRogge]

It doesn't even need to be a MONEY gift... maybe someone with the tech for an android body sponsored it?

[Foxboy]

"So," Eljay said. "Lemme get this straight. The two of you... are working together to fund a shell for ZNN's Cronkite?" Giddy giggles exploded from the puppeteer. He suddenly turned deadly serious. "How old do you want to make him? I'm putting my own share into it, by the way. Honest news is nothing to sneeze at."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[nick012000]

... for that matter, Noah's girls aren't poor, either. ...

True - on paper. What they do with their money keeps them from being as conspicuously wealthy as Noah, though.

Yayoi: The writeup for the Crystal Millennium already says what she did with her early fortune. That donation of her early seed capital to the Senshi means she's comfortably well-off, not filthy rich.

Sora: Being in the VVS now, Sora ignores her wealth as much as possible.

Kohran: Mad Science isn't cheap...

Leda: ... nor is Real Science...

Takami: ... or a really good computer system...

Yomiko: ... or a well-stocked library ...

Miyuri: ... or a really good observatory. All of them have plenty of places to spend their money.

Yuu and Helen: Don't really know that they're rich - Helen because she's too young, and Yuu because she's never been wealthy before joining the family.

Kagome and Safety: Hmmmmm... must ponder here. It's possible that either or both of them might have made part of that donation.

Obviously it was Agatha Clay. Because when you're an evil mad scientist, you want the whole world to know and fear your name, and what better way than getting one of the best reporters around a physical body to better facilitate that?

[ECSNorway]

"So," Eljay said. "Lemme get this straight. The two of you... are working together to fund a shell for ZNN's Cronkite?" Giddy giggles exploded from the puppeteer. He suddenly turned deadly serious. "How old do you want to make him? I'm putting my own share into it, by the way. Honest news is nothing to sneeze at."

(Simultaneous):
Natalie: "Thirty."
Marsden: "Fifty."
The two turned and glared at one another, Chris's hands flexing into fists, then relaxing. They then both immediately turn their backs on one another and cross their arms over their chests, in a perfect mirror image. If it wasn't utterly ridiculous, you could easily assume they'd rehearsed the scene.
"Cronkite was respected most in his later years. Besides, age lends gravitas," Chris argued.
"That doesn't mean we need to saddle this version with a creaky, age-addled body," replied Baker.
"Well, of course not. Nothing says he has to be that old underneath. Just enough gray to garner respect."
"So why don't -you- show any gray?" Natalie snapped back at him, looking over her shoulder.
"Because I'm not fifty," said Marsden, peering back over his shoulder at her.
"Fine. Forty," was countered by "Forty-five," and they settled a moment later on "Forty-two".

"
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Warringer]

Walter managed to silence everyone at the Fnord Hearing of the Joint Committee on Extraterrestrial Security in Washington with a single sentence when the press was allowed to ask questions. “Walter Cronkite of ZNN. Please tell me, Senator Kellerman, have you ever heard of Senator McCarthey?” (optional depending on what Mal says)

Unfortunately (from what I've been given to understand) congressional hearings aren't press conferences, and so the fourth estate doesn't get to ask questions during them. However, if Walter's mobile enough he could always try and ambush Kellerman outside the hearing room.

(Kellerman's reply would be "Of course I have, sir. Have you ever heard of the Rosenbergs?")

(Chairman Fnord's reply wasn't recorded, he was too busy laughing his ass off to say anything coherent.)

Followed by a very long match back and forth between Cronkite and Kellerman that leads to Fnord having to be carried outside in gales of laughter. It seen as one of the legendary broadcasts of ZNN, with both sides seeing it as positive publicity for them. The truth is somewhere in between.
Also interesting is the rumor that Noah donated to ZNN, however most dropped that rumor as Cronkite proved to be very critical against Stellvia when it came to Suzumiya.
And it's unlikely that ZNN would take the offer from Oscar. They started out with their office in Kandor City.

[Warringer]

Walter Cronkite
The most trusted man in Fenspace.

“I have covered the NASA space program for years and been at the source when Niel made the first step on the Moon. Such experiences don’t go by without leaving you becoming a believer in it. I wish I could at least one time go into space and see Earth from up there. I bet I would make a good Fen.” - Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr., March 5th, 2009

Awakened in November 9, 2009, Walter Cronkite is an AI version of the real Walter Cronkite who died only a few month earlier. He and Karen Corwin, who owned the laptop he awoke in, decided to keep him secret for the moment until they were able to get an android body for him.
In early 2010 he began writing as ‘Walter Wilcox’ on the ZNN news blog, providing Fenspace with very accurate of fen and dane situations and continues to do so even today.
In late 2012, he officially appeared in the ZNN live news stream ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ in a computer generated late 60s studio. Walter noted later that he deliberately chose that setup, since most people knew him from exactly that setup and to get people to listen to him. The ‘news studio’ was even a direct copy of the news studio of the CBS Evening News used by the real Cronkite.
After ZNN got an anonymous donation, he and Karen Corwin got an android body for him from Vulpine Fury only to find one that was already donated to him from another anonymous source.
The first public outing of Walter happened at Serenity Con, where he appeared to a life audience in a replica of his ‘online studio’ and subsequently made a life commentary of the Battle of Serenity Valley, and earning him the first Fenspace Pulitzer Award.
Walters first ZNN show, the ‘5 O’Clock Follies’ turned into the ‘ZNN Evening News’ as of the end of the Boskone War, which remains Walters main appearance in the news.
When he is not appearing on the ‘ZNN Evening News’, he works on news stories, blog articles, appears in public happenings or sails a small waved sail ship in cislunar space.
He is seen by most as Fenspace incarnation of the honest journalist and is what his origial was for America, the most trusted man around.
Personality Quirks

• I am who I am He is well aware that he is an AI, but also that he is Walter Cronkite with (presumably) all of his memories. As such he will always refer to those memories as if he had them himself. That leads to some interesting moments when he talks about any of the historical moments the real Walter Cronkite covered.
• An honest Man He goes out of his way to be as honest as he can be and as objectivist journalist, he tries to be without bias and find and share the unaided truth. That does not mean that he is incapable of lying through.

Trivia

• One interesting piece of trivia is that Walter is the only one to win the ‘Anonymous Trololol Award’ for his April Folls edition of the ‘ZNN Evening News’ in a row for 2015 (the largest ever tripple Rickroll in History), 2016 (ZNN Evening News Fox edition), 2017 (ZNN Evening News 1920 silent movie edition, complete with piano and cue cards), 2018 (ZNN Evening News Opera edition) and 2019 (ZNN Evening News like its every other day, a troll of a meta level)
• There are rumors that Cronkite is actually the real Cronkite reborn as AI, because the afterlife was too boring and Fenspace just had so many things to do for him. He does neither confirm nor deny those rumors.                                                                     

[Rakhasa]

Warringer wrote:

---

And it's unlikely that ZNN would take the offer from Oscar. They started out with their office in Kandor City.

Bah! what does Kandor have to offer a news network, apart for irrelevant details like ten times Marduk's population, being the first fen city, the headquarters of two main factions, Luna's biggest spaceport, cutting edge univertities, hundreds of thousands of transients per year... ~grumbles~ Well, at least it's not Port Luna...
  

[ECSNorway]

*thumbs up*
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[robkelk]

Someone (not necesarily someone with money, fame or connections, fenspace is an internet society) could create a fenfacebook group for the ZNN Droid Proyect, with a donations account. A Belt miner with interest in real, honest Fen news may not be able to afford a whole new body, but he will be able to afford a few credits for the fund.

One word: Kickstarter.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Warringer]

Someone (not necesarily someone with money, fame or connections, fenspace is an internet society) could create a fenfacebook group for the ZNN Droid Proyect, with a donations account. A Belt miner with interest in real, honest Fen news may not be able to afford a whole new body, but he will be able to afford a few credits for the fund.

One word: Kickstarter.

Now that is an idea that would work perfectly well in fenspace...

Consider it used for ZNN.