Reporters in The Idolm@ster 2 are very similar to reporters in real life. They want to follow around celebrities or other interesting people to get a scoop.
Any time that you complete an audition, live, or festival in an area, you have the chance of the reporter in the area (if there is one) deciding to follow you around. You can tell in advance whether there is a reporter in the area, and who it is, by looking in the lower left part of the Schedule Select screen next to the pencil icon. There will either be dashes (if no one) or the reporter's name in kanji.
Once you get a reporter, they will will follow your unit around for 4 weeks (including the week you first get them). The reporter magnifies the positive or negative effects you get for doing well (or poorly) at various aspects of the game. For instance, if your idol unit successfully passes auditions/lives/festivals while Ariake Jin is following them, the reporter will write a positive story about your unit which gets your unit more fans for that win. But if you fail an audition/live/festival while the reporter is following your unit, they will write a negative story about your unit and the effect will turn negative.
Below shows how each reporter affects an idol unit.
| Picture | Name | Effects | |
|
Ataka Jun 安宅 純 |
Pos: | Voltage Gauge fills more quickly for all types of appeals. |
| Neg: | Voltage Gauge fills slower than normal. | ||
|
Ariake Jin 有明 仁 |
Pos: | 40% extra fans gained from all activities. |
| Neg: | Less fans gained from all activities. | ||
|
Koshiba Tooru 小柴 徹 |
Pos: | Lessons improve stats more than usual. |
| Neg: | Lessons don't improve stats much. | ||
|
Kanamaru Taizou 金丸 大蔵 |
Pos: | 40% extra money gained from all activities. |
| Neg: | Less money gained from all activities. | ||
|
Yamahara Tarou 山原 太郎 |
Pos: | 20% extra fans & money for any Job / Promotion activity. |
| Neg: | Less fans and money gained from jobs. | ||