Jostling for space, day in and day out

They jostled for space.

She, the fiancée of a passenger travelling by the missing airlines flight MH370. She, who has been receiving a series of death threats and several distressing phone calls.

He, a student with 'special needs,' whose quaint cupcake store that has inspired many owing to the store's policy to employ staff only with special needs.

They, whose family friend and neighbour is schizophrenic and fighting for her life after being brutally assaulted at the hospice she was institutionalized.
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"Not only is this alarming, but people ought to know about it, this needs to stop immediately!," Amina justified, convinced that her story needed to be heard.

"Oh, pish posh applesauce! That plane's been missing since over two months, nothing new in the story. And 'death threats?' Woman, please!," Ryan scoffed, adding, "Yours (story) is nothing but the same facts being repeated over and over, only with a crisis actor in the picture now," he went on. "MY story is a positive one - it draws patrons to the store and inspires them to share the novel idea!," Ryan concluded, confident that his story was the most worthy of being known to people — after all, it was Autism Awareness month globally!

Revati and Jayanth just rolled their eyes during this heated exchange of words and, when there was a lull in the conversation, Revati spoke up. "No offense, you lot," she pursed her lips, and went on, "Ms. Vyas has been battling her demons throughout her life, and has to now battle for her life, in fact!"
Seeing the puzzled expressions on Amina's and Ryan's faces, Jayanth offered an explanation. "What Rev means is that what Ms. Vyas has been through is not only appalling, but should be openly discussed at length. Stories about mental health issues are still shunned away and covered up," he explained. Not finished making his point, Jayanth concluded, "Rev and my story really should get its due importance. It is the only way there'll be any difference in the statistics."
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Well, Mr. Majumdar had other plans in mind. It didn't matter that the four youth jostled for space, for, staring at the reader(s) from the front page of the following day's edition of The National Chronicle was a white-haired, bespectacled, saffron-clad man, with a brooch of the national flower pinned to his shirt's left pocket.
Evidently, while the campaigning is restricted to the streets, moneyed contenders crowd one's home — and a full, front-page advertisement in the country's leading newspapers is just one of the many ways.


Needless to say, they continue to jostle for space on the front page, whilst journalists Amina, Ryan, Revati and Jayanth are rendered helpless, seeing as the said politician and other wealthy candidates are, after all, the "holy cows of the media world."