StarCraft: Frontline: Newsworthy is a story in the four-part StarCraft: Frontline series. It is found in volume 2. It was authored by Grace Randolph and illustrated by Nam Kim.
Description
Newsworthy
A pro-Dominion reporter lands the scoop of lifetime: an exclusive sit-down with Emperor Arcturus Mengsk following an embedded mission with terran marines. Every good reporter tells both sides of the story, but when she comes face-to-face with atrocity, can she handle the brutal truth, much less report it?
Synopsis
A month before the anniversary of Arcturus Mengsk's inauguration as emperor of the Terran Dominion, Kate Lockwell was embedded with a group of Dominion marines led by Major Tom Hawkins aboard a battlecruiser. This was the first time UNN had been allowed to embed a reporter since Michael Liberty's own reporting several years earlier. The editor-in-chief, Handy Anderson, had recommended her, and Hawkins accepted since she was loyal to the Dominion. He told her this assignment could make her career.
However, Lockwell had to work with cameraman Zach Oliver, a conspiracy theorist. She had fired him several months earlier, but he was back as the scheduled cameraman suffered an illness.
Lockwell made a pro-Dominion report and was treated nicely by the marines. Upon landing near Candore Colony, however, the marines refused to let her see them in operation.
When the marines returned, one told Hawkins there were too many prisoners in the bridge. Hawkins simply told him to "handle it" and refused to discuss the situation with Lockwell or grant her any interviews.
Aboard the battlecruiser, Lockwell tricked a marine into confirming terran prisoners, then she and Oliver investigated it. They found the holding area for the prisoners and interviewed one of them. He claimed the Dominion took them prisoner for protesting against government policy. He then pointed Lockwell and Oliver toward a door and said, "Your big scoop is in there." Behind it, they discovered that every horizontal surface was stacked with bodies. On all the shelves and thigh-deep on the floor, were dead colonists, men, women, and even children. Shaken, Lockwell told Oliver to make two backup copies of the report. As they didn't know what really happened, Oliver suggested tuning in to Mike Liberty's pirate broadcasts, but all they discovered was Candore's colonists had simply disappeared. The marines discovered the transmission and arrested them.
Lockwell claimed there were no copies of the footage, but Hawkins didn't believe her. He launched Oliver out into space through an airlock as a threat to get her to hand over the hard copy. He then tried to kill her so she could not report her story, only to be interrupted by an attack from the Knights of Freedom, who invaded the ship. As the Knights fought the marines, Hawkins chased down Lockwell, shooting her in the shoulder. However, the Knights caught up to them and shot Hawkins dead before he could finish off Lockwell. It was then that she was met with surprise to find that Michael Liberty was among her rescuers.
Lockwell refused to be rescued, however. She gave Liberty one copy of the footage, and allowed the marines to find her with the other copy. Lockwell survived the encounter with the marines, and her reported aired on Universe News Network – but it was a pro-Dominion propaganda piece (either because she was resocialized or because she was protecting the real footage.) She promised to interview Mengsk the next month. Liberty decided to air the footage he'd been given at the same time.
Characters
Reporters
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File:KateLockwell Newsworthy Comic1.jpg | 
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| Michael Liberty | Kate Lockwell | Zach Oliver | Tom |
Others
Notes
Newsworthy takes place in 2502.[1]
Originally Grace Randolph made "Nora Colby" as the main character of Newsworthy. Blizzard Entertainment suggested she make the main character Kate Lockwell instead.[2]
References
Randolph, Grace (w), Nan Kim (art), Matt Dalton (i). "Newsworthy." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 2 (paperback binding), pp. 68-121. Tokyopop, January 1, 2009. ISBN 978-1427-80831-8.
- ↑ April 6, 2010. "Timeline". StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). pp. 311 - 323. ISBN 978-1416-55084-6.
- ↑ "Grace Randolph: @Mr. Grey I wrote Newsorthy about another reporter, but that was just because I was unaware that Kate Lockwell already existed within the game! When Blizzard suggested we change the lead to Kate Lockwell, I thought it was a great idea - but I'd already written the entire story at that point. I really liked the idea of creating a protege for Michael Liberty, and I hope to see that relationship will continue in Wings of Liberty - although we don't know for sure Kate's true fate at the end of Newsworthy. :)"
"Grace Randolph:' Her original name was going to be Nora Colby." Medievaldragon et al. 2009-09-09. Blizzplanet Live Chat with Tokyopop: Starcraft: Frontline Vol. 4. Blizzplanet. Accessed 2009-09-11.