Yeah, i saw this too he was lost in sigma-13 i think. I did think that it might be possible to get a mission from the relevant faction (GMG?) and attack a convoy, then scoop him but i did a few for them to no avail. I might be wrong but as far as i can see the only way to interact with the news is in the main storyline.

Try First encounters or to a lesser degree Frontier for a game where you can get in the news for doing random missions and read the news then get missions relating to it.

I don't think that it's true. It's just something to think about while you are kicking some Liberty butt in your Titan or Sabre or whatever and your level 10 guns going boom boom boom and the other pilots going "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!" or "I don't want to die!" or "I can't breathe!"

It's just another false story just like the "improved jet engine"

Knock, knock
Who’s there?
A talking pig.
Pigs can’t talk.
Neither can penguins, but I can’t shut him up[! Wait till you get a load of the dancing candelabra…

There are a few news stories that talk of increased ship performance, better weapons, etc. etc. So far none of these have played out. After sp is over, news is just a thing to make you go hmmmm.

I've been focussing on trading... for those of you who've been doing missions (at a bar; not in the story line), can you say...

Are missions ever assigned outside the system you're currently in? For example, at a bar in New York you get a mission to do something in Colorado system.

What's the most creative mission you've gotten? They all seem to wind up being "go to point X and fight one or more ships there, or along the way" or maybe fight platforms (too), and sometimes you'll tractor something in. Is there ever anything more than that?

I've never really done any serious trading, hav always leveled up via missions.
I have never seen a mission given outside a system.
I have never seen any missions that dont wind up being 'goto X kill Y... possibly scoop Z and come back'
To be fair i have a chronically bad memory and havn't every taken any missions above 250-300k (not that i've seen any).

All missions outside of storyline are the goto and kill whatever is at destination. Sometimes they have you tractor in or destroy a dropped object, or tractor in someones escape pod and return with it. The best way I've found to get a mission that requires you to leave a system is to get one at base right next to a jumpgate.

All I can think of is that the article may be a clue to the location of a wreck. Check the list of lootable wrecks to see if there's one from that faction in that system.

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless