Joseph Peterson is an influential chief editor of a newspaper, childe of Lodin, and a former Prince of Chicago who was exiled from the metropolis.
Biography[]
By the late 1960s, Joe Peterson had become disgusted with the liberal trends in journalism. A veteran of the most reactionary days of the Chicago Tribune, words like objectivity and fairness were foreign to his vocabulary.
Opponents of America as he saw it were to be prosecuted with every resource available, and he was a leader in the paper’s fight against the civil rights movement. When the paper won the first of its three Pulitzer Prizes for investigative reporting between 1971 and 1976, Peterson decided it was time to leave. He became a media consultant, stealing ideas from The Selling of the President 1968 to push candidates and businesses. Unfortunately, more politicians won despite his help than because of it. The same held true for the businesses whose public relations campaigns he ran. During the Carter years, he found work slacking off. He took a part-time post as a journalism professor at Daley Community College, where he remained in obscurity until Lodin began looking for a lieutenant to help him control the growing threat from the media.
The prince heard about Peterson from a state senator who had used his services in the early 1970s and, unusually, had nothing but praise for the consultant. When Lodin heard him lecture, he was also impressed. Of course, it was the same lecture Peterson had been giving for years. Several nights later Lodin approached Peterson and, after a short demonstration of vampiric powers, offered him immortality. Peterson had no reservations about accepting the Embrace. He now prefers to be called by his full name of Joseph, comparing himself to the biblical figure who was sold into slavery by his brothers (how he has come to view his treatment by fellow journalists) and became a power in Egypt. Despite his mortal incompetence, Peterson has had little trouble keeping media reports of the Kindred out of the news. Recently he has become more high-handed, though he worries that his threats, intimidation and attacks may someday backfire. Still, he is cocky because of his new powers and does not worry too much. He still has connections to both the Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. As the local televisions rations follow the lead of the papers, Peterson has seen little need to clamp down on them despite their recent emphasis on local news. In fact, the only local news source that has eluded his control is the Chicago Reader — a weekly newspaper which he holds in contempt — and the local college papers.
Joseph is one of Chicago’s main advocates of the Masquerade, and he will work with any vampire, be it anarch or elder, to preserve it. He is also the Cainite most likely to push for sanctions against those who blatantly violate this secrecy. He still lives in southwest Chicago, near the Daley Community College campus, and feeds exclusively on journalists.
Joseph believes his control of the media is reason enough to make him prince, an opinion he will express to everyone within earshot. He points out that it was only through his efforts that the worst aspects of the Lupine attack never made it into the press, and says there are many great things he could do if he were prince — though if pressed he is short on specifics. Indeed, the idea of becoming prince is so attractive to Joseph that if it appears likely the honor will go to another, he will threaten to break the Masquerade in a most permanent way.
He controls the Chicago media; he can bury a story with a single phone call or order another into high visibility. In the modern world this is an influence far more powerful than one might think; given time he can actually affect the mindset of the people of Chicago, shifting their opinions on such things as crime, politics and police brutality.
Fifth Edition[]
Kindred around the world began to fall into the turbulent chaos of influence management that overwhelmed the city. Chicago, known as "the Jewel of the American Camarilla," attracted favors and blessings from across the ages in an attempt to bring the grand sporting event to life. They lost sight of what the Olympics truly represented—some investors didn’t even know why they were pouring money into Chicago other than the fact that their peers were doing the same. The brief Prince, Joseph Peterson, used every ounce of leverage he had to achieve this goal, putting Chicago's very soul and the legitimacy of his praxis on the line to make the Olympics happen. His obsession with the event blinded him to the potential costs if the bid failed.
The day of the announcement was heavily publicized. With the city’s media controlled by the Prince, all eyes were on the then-sitting mayor, Richard M. Daley Jr., and Chicago’s supporters. Peterson went to sleep that morning confident that he would awaken to showcase how he had gilded the Camarilla’s Jewel. The personality cult surrounding Daley, carefully cultivated by Peterson's media machine over the years, was in full display. The presumed "father of Chicago" was expected to lead the city into the future, with all its citizens ready to reap the rewards. In those moments, the people of Chicago were certain they had won.
The headlines, however, told a very different story. Photos in major newspapers captured Daley and his supporters in total shock—not only had Chicago lost, but it was the first city eliminated from the bidding process. Outrage and schadenfreude swept through the city like wildfire. Businesses had taken out loans in anticipation of the crowds, and the city lost vast sums of potential revenue—not only from missing out on hosting the Olympics but also from outsourcing its assets. The complete and utter collapse of hopes for massive returns deeply shook Chicago. The people were, and still are, furious. To make matters worse, the chosen host city was Rio de Janeiro—a Sabbat stronghold at the time.
While the city had been perfectly groomed and polished by Peterson’s marketing machinations, the show yielded no returns. All the accumulated debts from blessings and money weighed heavily on the Prince. The Primogen Council completely lost faith in Peterson, and the city began to strongly question the power of the Ventrue. His pawn in the mayor's office was replaced as quickly as possible, seen as a scar from the monumental failure. Peterson tried to pivot by capitalizing on the fame the city was garnering from Barack Obama, but to no avail. The debts were still glaringly evident in the black ink of Critias’ pen, and the machinations of Peterson’s family were even worse.
Kevin Jackson risked his entire portfolio for Peterson. Jackson’s rebellious tendencies flared from the insult when his blood brother refused to repay any portion of the investment. Peterson often brushed off the loss as something that had made the city better, telling other kindred behind closed doors that it was "just the cost of doing business." However, that excuse was unacceptable to Kevin. He made his own deals with Inyanga of the Gangrel, took territories through criminal means, and petitioned the Primogen Council, arguing that he would be a more effective Prince than Peterson, the remaining Maxwell (who had not openly declared his defection from the Camarilla), or pure council governance.
The echoes of the catastrophe that was the 2016 Olympic bid still loom heavily over the city, and old debts remain unpaid. However, Jackson is determined to move forward, exiling Peterson as a disgrace to the Ventrue.
In 1997, Joseph Peterson ordered a search of a hideout Marshall maintained in the Fine Arts Building. His agents found anonymous letters from an individual writing as if they were his sire, but the handwriting did not match DuSable’s. One of the letters read: “If you do not do as we have spoken, I will personally resolve the matter by extreme means.” Prince Jackson is aware of these letters. When questioned, DuSable simply said: “He was my direct subordinate within our Pyramid, and he is gone.” The Prince remains unsatisfied with this response.
Character Sheet[]
CbN 1st & 2nd Ed[]
Image: A middle-aged Caucasian male with a pocked face and greasy brown hair.
Roleplaying Hints: You analyze anything anyone says to you, frequently in a way that makes the speaker appear in the worst light.
Haven: A house near Daley.
Secrets: C+†/B-††
Influence: He controls the Chicago media; he can bury a story with a single phone call or order another into high visibility.In the modern world, this is an influence far more powerful than one might think. Given time, he can actually affect the mindset of the people of Chicago, shifting their opinions on such things as crime, politics, and police brutality.
† Chicago by Night applicable stats
†† Chicago by Night Second Edition applicable stats
References[]
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 136-137
- VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 131-132