How could there be anything new to her story? What happened is what happened. Did they expect her to change it?
That’s exactly what they were hoping for... so they could say she was lying because “her story changed”
No. The decision not to run with the story came from the top. Then the editor sent the reporter out with a qualifier that could not be met (something new to the story).
This was to guarantee that no matter what, they would not publish a story of any kind based on the interview.