I was interested to see the story of coin-swallowing Chris Roe in Dog.
It
may interest you to know that Chris has a reputation for carelessness
with money. Several years ago, when pounding the streets of Tewkesbury
for the Gloucestershire Echo, Chris received the dreaded call from his
newsdesk: “Roe – I need a vox-pop.”
The substance of the vox-pop,
even when allied with Chris’ “cheeky chappy” charm, failed to ignite
the enthusiasm of Tewkesbury’s residents.
With deadline
approaching and an empty notebook, Chris took the only route left open.
He went to his bank machine, withdrew five tenners, and used them to
lure in interviewees.
Within 30 minutes, he was done. I’ve heard
of chequebook journalism, but I believe this may be a first on a
provincial daily’s vox-pop page!
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