✅ The correct answer is "his" because the word "leading" is a gerund, which is a verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun.

When a noun or pronoun immediately precedes a gerund, it should be in the possessive case to show ownership of the action.

In this construction (Preposition + Possessive Noun/Pronoun + Gerund), "of" is the preposition, and "leading" is the gerund, so the pronoun modifying "leading" must be possessive.

The formula can be visualized as: .

❌ "He" is incorrect because it is in the subjective case and cannot modify a gerund in this construction.

❌ "Him" is incorrect because it is in the objective case and, while it can be an object of a preposition, it does not correctly modify a gerund acting as a noun to show who performs the action.

❌ "Himself" is incorrect because it is a reflexive pronoun and is used to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause when the subject and object are the same, which is not the case here.

✅ The correct answer is "his" because the pronoun immediately preceding and modifying a gerund ("being") must be in the possessive case. The entire phrase "his being consistently late..." functions as the object of the preposition "around."

❌ "Him" is in the objective case, which is incorrect when directly preceding a gerund that it modifies.

❌ "He" is in the subjective (nominative) case, which is used for subjects of verbs, not for modifying gerunds.

❌ "Himself" is a reflexive or intensive pronoun, used to refer back to the subject or to add emphasis, and is not appropriate for showing possession before a gerund.

✅ The correct choice is C) "their / her." The first blank precedes the gerund "leaving," which requires a possessive pronoun ("their"). The second blank follows "including," which functions as a preposition here and therefore requires the objective case pronoun ("her").

❌ A) "them / she" is incorrect because "them" (objective) should be "their" (possessive) before a gerund, and "she" (subjective) should be "her" (objective) after "including."

❌ B) "their / she" is incorrect because while "their" is correctly possessive before the gerund, "she" (subjective) is incorrect after "including"; it should be "her" (objective).

❌ D) "them / her" is incorrect because "them" (objective) should be "their" (possessive) when preceding a gerund; "her" is correctly in the objective case, but the first part is wrong.

✅ The correct answer is "he" because the pronoun functions as a subject complement following the linking verb "was," renaming or identifying the subject "It."

The grammatical rule is: Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement (which must be in the subjective case).

❌ Option A, "him," is in the objective case, which is used for direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions, not for subject complements.

❌ Option C, "himself," is a reflexive or intensive pronoun, typically used when the subject and object are the same or for emphasis, neither of which applies here.

❌ Option D, "his," is a possessive pronoun or possessive determiner, indicating ownership or relation, which does not fit the grammatical role of a subject complement in this sentence.

✅ The correct answer is "her" because it is an objective case pronoun.

Prepositions, such as "of" in this sentence, always take an object case pronoun or noun.

Since "the investigative journalists" is the first part of the compound object of "of," the pronoun filling the blank must also be in the objective case.

❌ "She" is a subjective case pronoun, used when the pronoun is the subject of a verb, not as the object of a preposition.

❌ "Hers" is a possessive pronoun, indicating ownership, which is not the grammatical function required in this context.

❌ "Herself" is a reflexive or intensive pronoun; it is used when the pronoun refers back to the subject of the clause (e.g., "She taught herself") or for emphasis (e.g., "She herself said so"), neither of which applies here.