The Newsroom (2012–2014): Season 1, Episode 8 - The Blackout, Part 1: Tragedy Porn - full transcript

I know maybe a dozen
reporters, guys you know, too,

who tell me they've been
pitching you this story

for almost a year
with no luck.

Yeah, I'm not crazy about
being interviewed in print.

Print journalists play it fast
and loose with exclamation points.

I love the news
becomes I love the news!

Suddenly I'm deranged.

- So why now?
- Huh?

Why are you agreeing
to this piece now?

- Don't happen to have a cigarette?
- No.

- Why now?
- Ah, right here.



Why do you want
this now?

I want some sort of document about
what we've been trying to do here.

Like the king
at the end of "Camelot"

telling the boy to run behind
the lines from village to village

telling people about,
you know...

- Camelot.
- Yeah.

I'm asking why
you reached out to me.

Because, your recent
complications notwithstanding,

you cover the media better
than anyone out there.

You haven't lost your
touch for complimenting

and insulting someone at the same time.

Thank you.
I appreciate it.

But it wasn't meant
as an insult, Brian.

Your life's been in
newsmagazines,



- and newsmagazines aren't...
- I know.

...as many pages long
as they used to be.

What kind of access
are we talking about?

Here's what I'll offer.
You spend a few days here,

talk to whoever you want,
but it's all off the record.

- Not even background.
- What good does that do me?

If I like how it feels,
then we go ahead.

But I still get to tell
you what can retroactively

go on the record from
the tryout period.

- You're asking me to audition?
- Yeah.

Why would I do that?

I can think of
some reasons.

Four years ago, you were on
the masthead at "Newsweek,"

turning out 10
cover stories a year

and spending Sunday
mornings on TV.

Today you have a blog.

Your fucking disdain
for the Internet--

Is matched only by your fucking
disdain for the Internet.

You took a buyout when
"Newsweek" was sold to IAC

and rolled the money into a start-up,
thinking you'd be the next Huffington Post.

How'd it work out?

We filed for bankruptcy.

The "Sunday Times Magazine,"
"Vanity Fair,"

"GQ," "The New Republic,"
"The Atlantic"--

everybody's offered the cover
and I get to pick the writer.

I'm going with "New York
Magazine" and you.

So, you okay
with the audition?

Are you prepared to talk
about your Republicanism?

You say that
like I've got polio.

Are you prepared to talk
about having polio?

I grew up in a town outside of
town outside Lincoln, Nebraska.

My hometown was a road.

I was a college freshman
before I met a Democrat.

What about our history?

Brian, your problem
with me back in the day

was that I was a moderate,
sane Republican

who refused to take a position on
anything for fear I would lose viewers.

Just as moderate,
sane Republicans on the Hill

refuse to take a position for
fear they'll lose primary voters.

I had a nightly rundown that went out
of its way to avoid reporting the news.

And then Mackenzie McHale
came along

and I'm attacking
my own party

for not standing up
to its attackers.

Isn't that what you wanted me to do
back when you were calling me a coward?

Yeah, but that's not
the history I'm talking about

and you already knew that, so
please stop fucking around with me.

One parenthetical sentence
in the second graph.

"Full disclosure. I've been
a friend of Mackenzie McHale's

- since the late '90s."
- And you?

An email went
to 178,000 people

and was reported on
our own morning show.

That's all you know and
that's all you'll report.

That's fine with me.
But that's the last time

you'll tell me what I will
or won't report.

- I'm not your stenographer.
- Do we have a deal?

Yeah, now why do you need someone
to run from village to village?

Is something about
to happen to Camelot?

Maybe.

First, you have to learn what
our whole philosophy is.

Hang out, we'll talk later. I have
to go to a meeting with Reese Lansing.

What's it about?

Suspending our whole
philosophy.

Good to see you
again, Brian.

He should be here
any minute.

Sorry I'm late.

All right, I'm not gonna tell
you what to put on the air.

You're not allowed to tell
us what to put on the air.

So I'm just
gonna tell you the facts.

You got mugged last week.
You got bludgeoned.

- It's Casey Anthony.
- Hang on, wait. She may just be right.

- We knew we'd take a small hit.
- There's nothing small.

Let me just give you the facts and then
invite you to draw your own conclusion.

Nancy Grace averages 283,000
viewers on HLN.

Her time period
competitor "News Night"

averages 960,000.

One week ago, HLN begins coverage
of the Casey Anthony trial

and Nancy's audience increases
to 1.5 million viewers

while "News Night"'s audience
drops to 460,000,

sending you from second to fifth
place in the course of five days.

A feat I previously thought
was only accomplishable

by the New York Mets.

Whose idea was it to not cover
the Casey Anthony trial?

It was mine.

I think the three of you
should have a vaudeville act.

I'm not kidding. I'm gonna
send you on a fucking tour.

It was hers.

Mackenzie, I've never seen a more
vivid picture of why viewers left,

where they went to,
and why.

You said why twice.

You chose not
to work for PBS.

You chose not to work for NPR.
You have a ratings obligation.

No, you have
a ratings obligation.

You're in business
with the advertisers.

I'm in business
with the viewers.

You just lost
their business.

That's all.

Do what you want
with the information.

I'll not be taken down by this
psychotic cocktail waitress.

That's right, we just keep playing
our game, wait it out and just...

How long can
the trial go on?

I've seen the witness list.
It'll run around six weeks

plus summations
plus deliberation.

- We'll never make it.
- That's right, so--

wait, when you said
we wouldn't be taken down

by this psychotic
cocktail waitress,

did you mean we weren't
gonna cave or that we were?

- You're gonna cover Casey Anthony.
- Bullshit we are.

We have the three-day
weekend to gear up for it.

- Charlie. - Starting Tuesday,
you'll lead with her in the A block.

Give it 15 minutes and a
five-minute reset on the half hour.

Seriously, I can't tell
if you're joking or--

- Did you just hear those numbers?
- Yes.

Half our audience changed
the channel in one week.

- I understand.
- Do you?

- Do I understand math? - Do you
understand that it's unprecedented?

I'm not gonna argue with you
when Will can do it for me.

He's never gonna go for this. Tell him.

Have marketing promo the living
shit out of Casey Anthony.

- Oh, my God. - Rename the show
"Casey Anthony Night with Casey Anthony."

- Will, hang on.
- Right here on the Casey Anthony Network.

- Mac.
- 'Cause any second I'm going to wake up

and be back in a room with Don
Quixote and the mission to civilize.

- Listen to me. - No.
How many drinks were thrown in your face

because you didn't think
people should be watching

"The Real Morons of South Beach"
or whatever the hell it's called?

- It's not the same thing.
- It's exactly the same thing.

It's just worse.
A child is dead.

A very troubled young mother
either did or didn't murder her.

Her parents are waiting to find out if
their daughter's going to get the needle.

So thank God for TiVo, otherwise
we wouldn't be able to sit down--

- It's news. - Yeah, say that
three times and click your heels.

It's entertainment.

And it's just-- just
this side of a snuff film.

- Sit down, Mac.
- No, I don't want to sit.

- Do it anyway, please. - 15 at the top,
that's a quarter of the show.

- Mac.
- And five at the bottom for a reset?

Please sit!

- Think I like it?
- I know you don't.

It makes me sick. There isn't
enough bourbon in Kentucky.

Okay? We're in the same
place on this.

So let's be in
the same place on this.

We've had
ratings dips before.

First of all, not like this.
Nothing like this.

Second, I want the debate. The three of
us have talked about a new debate format

for months and we're not going to be able
to do it if they don't give us a debate.

- I just really-- - They're
not gonna give us a debate

if we're in fifth place.
I want the debate.

I want to fundamentally
change the way

we interview presidential
candidates for their job.

If that means we have
to be Jerry Springer

for a few weeks, I'm willing
to pay that price.

When the going gets tough,
the two of you really man up.

Then go with your
principles, Mac, but know

a ratings hit like this
is all Leona needs

to fire Will without
having to explain why.

- All right.
- You'll do it as classy as you can.

I'll have Will wear
a top hat and monocle

while he's showing pictures
of the wet T-shirt contest.

I'm sorry about
the outburst in there.

Yeah, I'm not sure it was
all about Casey Anthony.

- How did it go?
- He's doing it.

Then he has to disclose
that we were--

I told him one parenthetical
in the second graph.

That's it.

He needs to be seen
as a heavyweight again, Mac.

He's not gonna write
a tell-all. You're fine.

Murrow did
"Person to Person."

Celebrity interviews.
It was a deal with Paley.

One for them,
one for him.

He interviewed
Liberace, Mac,

just so he could keep
going after McCarthy.

Those were puff pieces.
This is poison.

If we're gonna do this, let's
not pretend we're not doing this.

- Jim Harper.
- Hey.

- Brian Brenner.
- I know.

I wasn't sure if you remembered.
It's been a few years.

Sure.
It's good to see you.

- Yeah.
- Don't make me write

that you're using Andrew
Breitbart to research this show.

No, we're gonna be doing a mock
debate at the end of next week.

- A mock debate? - The RNC is looking
at Will to possibly host a debate,

and Will and Mac have an
idea for a new debate format.

We want to show them, so
we're each playing a candidate

and we're gonna do a mock
debate on Michele Bachmann, so...

- Andrew Breitbart.
- Yeah.

Tell me about this new
debate format you guys want.

You know, I'm not really sure what
I'm allowed to talk to you about yet.

Do you mind if we wait until
I get some instructions?

- Sure.
- Thanks.

Hey.

- Hey.
- I heard you were here.

You're not getting out
of town for the weekend?

- Nope. How about you?
- Yeah.

I'm going to a think tank
conference outside Baltimore.

The Institute For Capital
Studies and Economic Growth.

- It's gonna be a raver.
- I think it's called a rager.

- Are you sure?
- No.

It's either a rave
or a rager or a raver.

Don't think the Institute
For Capital Studies

and Economic Growth's
gonna be any of them.

So I stopped in
to give you a heads up.

I might need a couple extra
minutes Tuesday night.

I don't think I can
give it to you.

The House is going to vote up or
down on increasing the debt ceiling.

- It's a cosmetic vote, but--
- If it's a cosmetic vote, why--

It's news because first of
all, it'll be the first time

in history the House lets
the US default on its debt.

But moreover,
it'll be the first shot

in the beginning
of a very reckless,

extremely dangerous partisan fight
that could end in catastrophe.

- Let me explain.
- I can't give you the time.

- If Congress doesn't raise-- -
I can't give you the extra time.

Starting Tuesday, I have
to cover Casey Anthony.

- I really liked that
we weren't doing that.

I really liked it, too.

By putting the debt ceiling vote
in the A block, we'd be sending--

I can't, Sloan. We lost
half our audience last week.

That's not hyperbole.
That's an actual number.

- Half our audience went to HLN at 8:00.
- Half?

If we don't bring them home this week,
we'll have lost most of them for good

and we could lose the debate.

Kenzie, I'm not just trying
to get more airtime.

This is an incredibly
important--

I had 42 and a half
minutes to work with.

I now have 22 and a half.

Do you know how you're gonna
budget the 22 and a half?

Do you know what
Tuesday's news is?

We want the debate.
That's the prize.

Those guys are studying on a
Friday night of a three-day weekend.

- Okay, next question.
- Congresswoman Bachmann,

you're a proponent of reforming
Social Security and Medicare.

Can you give us some details
of the reforms you have in mind?

I'd start by reducing benefits
for all but current recipients

as part of an effort to
reduce the federal deficit.

I'd like to add that President
Obama has already transferred

over $500 billion out of
Medicare and into Obamacare,

which I will repeal
on my first day in office.

Ms. Bachmann, are you aware that
presidents can't repeal laws?

I, Jim, am aware
of that, but...

Where are you
getting the quote?

- Hmm.
- What?

Anthony Weiner's
Twitter account got hacked.

- Can I suggest a way to turn
lemons into lemonade? - Sure.

First you squeeze the juice from
the lemons. Then add sugar and water.

And you're not really
into this joke, so I'm

just going to say what
I really wanted to say.

The Casey Anthony story actually
gives us a chance to show

how important the debt
ceiling story is if we lead

with the debt ceiling
instead of Casey Anthony.

When do you have
to go to your raver?

- I've got plenty of time.
- Tea, can I have another?

- Yeah.
- Hey, how about Brian Brenner?

I've been reading him for years
and didn't know what he looked like.

- He's cute.
- Yeah.

- Is he single?
- He is.

- Are you interested?
- Nope.

That's contempt prior
to investigation.

No, it's contempt after
thorough investigation.

- You dated him?
- I did.

- When?
- About six years ago.

That's-- wait.

- That's--
- Yeah.

Six years ago, you were with the
guy you were with before Will.

Yeah.

- But that would--
- Oh, my God, Sloan.

It's like the land
where time stands still.

Brian Brenner is the guy
I cheated on Will with.

I'd been with Will for a year and
Brian started calling me again.

- Wow.
- Yeah.

- Why would he do the piece?
- Brian?

- Yeah.
- He needs a cover story.

And why would Will
have Brian do the piece?

That's a perfectly fair question
to which I have no answer.

This is really messed up.

Look, I'll do my best to find you
the time you need for the story.

We just need to hope there's
no new piece of nonsense

I have to jam
into my 22 minutes

of Short Attention
Span Theater.

Anthony Weiner
accidently tweeted

a picture of his groin
to 40,000 followers.

And I don't consider
it that big a federal offense,

but people want to pay attention
to it and I guess I get it.

When you're named Weiner, it
kind of goes with the territory.

Have you ever taken a picture
like this of yourself?

I can tell you this,
that there are--

I have photographs.

I don't know what photographs
are out there in the world of me.

I don't know what things have
been manipulated and doctored.

And we're gonna try
to find out what happened.

But the most important reason I want to
find out what happened is to make sure...

Weiner, McAvoy.
Call me.

You're getting
terrible advice.

Well, the choices are to do
something or to do nothing.

If we do nothing, then the audience
turns to the nearest guy doing something.

What exactly
would our report be?

That he's not answering
questions very well?

- I don't know. Give me three minutes.
- To report what?

I don't know. But if I do nothing, it's
gonna look like I'm protecting a liberal.

Since when did we start caring about
what it looks like instead of what it is?

Reports on the Tea Party won't have
credibility if we're not balanced.

Will, you're the one
who said that balance

for its own sake doesn't
have any place in reporting.

One from column A and one
from column B is bullshit.

And boorish behavior isn't the same
as taking the US Treasury hostage.

And when the RNC boys come here on
Friday, they won't see it the same way.

And you'll explain to them we
don't care that he's sexting.

- We care how he votes. - And they'll
understand, give us the debate,

let us use the format we want, and we'll
all go out for chocolate milk shakes.

Three minutes in the B block,
please, after Casey Anthony.

Okay.

I know it seems like
a story that only affects

300,000 people in Queens,
but since there's sex involved,

we can't deny
its national importance.

Especially since we don't know
all or even any of the facts.

Three minutes. I assume
you want the pictures.

Good meeting.

I'm pretty familiar
with that tone of voice.

- I guess you are, too?
- I am.

No one's been hitting the Tea
Party as hard as you've been.

- Certainly no Republican.
- That's not true.

David Frum, Mark McKinnon,
Alan Simpson,

Steve Schmidt,
Andrew Sullivan.

Okay, but none of them
work for Leona Lansing.

I don't know. I think everybody
works for Leona Lansing.

She can't be happy that you're beating
up people AWM needs on the Hill.

I'm really not an expert on what
does or doesn't make Leona happy.

Has she ever asked
you to tone it down?

I'm not doing your
reporting for you, Brian.

I'm doing my reporting myself.
I'm asking you a question.

I'm not commenting on or off the record
about either Leona or Reese Lansing.

- Does she want you fired?
- If she wanted me fired, I'd be fired.

All she has to do
is buy my contract,

which she can do with the
money under her sofa cushion.

But then she'd have to
explain why she was firing

the second most watched
anchor on cable

and she can't do that.

Is it a coincidence that
the tabloid stories about you

started right after
the election?

I don't know.

Do you think she's using
her own tabloid magazine

to manufacture a reason
to fire you?

That would be
a smart way to do it.

And, of course, if you
lost half your audience

because your show was too
highbrow to cover Casey Anthony,

she wouldn't even need
to work that hard to do it.

Firing an anchor for losing half
his audience isn't unreasonable,

if that's what
you're asking.

It wasn't
and you know it.

You're trying to get me to write this
story without your fingerprints on it.

AWM has to do business with Congress
and you're making it much harder.

Leona wants you fired, but can't
do it unless she can explain it.

She's hoping the tabloid
stories build to a critical mass

or that your ratings tank.

Say something if I'm wrong,
say nothing if I'm right.

For what it's worth,
I'd cave, too.

No serious journalist
would ever agree

to the demands
I made on Friday.

So for what it's worth,
you already did.

Are you ready to answer
questions about the newsletter?

- I haven't read it.
- The mock debate's Friday.

No, I'm being Ron Paul
right now. I didn't write it.

I've never read it.
I've never heard it.

It's got my name on it,
I've made money from it.

The newsletters would get a
standing ovation at a Klan rally,

but you should stop asking
me questions about them.

- You need a better answer.
- He needs a better answer.

Tell you what question
I'd start off with.

- Congresswoman Bachmann.
- Yes?

You've said that you were told
to run for president by God.

- Please, I don't--
- You have, right?

You've said on a number of occasions
that God told you to run for president.

I have some clips here if you'd
like me to refresh your memory.

- Nope, my memory is fresh.
- Here's my question.

- Good.
- What does God's voice sound like?

I'm completely serious.

She's saying that God
spoke directly to her.

How is this not the first
question asked in a debate?

How's it not
the only question?

What does His voice
sound like?

What did He say
exactly word for word?

Did He speak in Hebrew?
Acadian? Kiswahili-Bantu?

And to put it in a medical context, is
this the first time you've heard voices?

She's claiming
to be a prophet.

The whole world is sitting
on the edge of their seat.

How is this not the first
question we'll ask?

First of all, can you stop pointing
at me and saying she and her?

You're the one who wanted
to play a woman.

But tell me why that
question is out of line.

Because it's not the best way to
demonstrate seriousness of intent

and it's not the best way
not to insult people.

- Which people?
- Christians. 83% of the country.

I'm one of them.
And she's insulting me.

Please, stop pointing
at me when you are--

Relax, J. Edgar.
She's insulting me,

she's insulting my family,
she's insulting my congregation,

and she's insulting
my faith.

She's implying that
Christians are imbeciles

who will believe anything
while reducing God

to a party hack who endorses
political candidates.

Now, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this
is the first time since Moses

that God has given direct instructions
to someone other than His son.

But if so, I think
it deserves a follow-up.

We're not going to get the debate
if we're mocking their candidates.

The whole point
of the new debate format

is to compel the candidates
to tell the truth

and make them responsible
for their own rhetoric

If she knows what God wants,
then I'm voting for her.

If she doesn't, she should
stop saying so.

I'm not attacking Christians.
I'm defending them.

- All right.
- Just a moment, please.

- What? - I'm standing up
for the tens of millions of Christians

who are tired of being represented
by having our identity--

there's been
an identity theft.

That's it.
That's the one I want.

I think you already know
that starting tonight,

we're leading
with Casey Anthony.

Does anyone have
a problem with that?

All right, well, we lost almost
half a million viewers

to Nancy Grace last week.

Does anyone still have
a problem with it?

We're gonna clear out some
of these stories to make room.

"Senate obstruction
become worst in US history."

That's a report
by the Alliance For Justice.

The Senate's confirmed a smaller
percentage of Obama's judicial appointees

than any other Senate
and any other president.

No reason to care
about that.

"Job situation dire,
new stimulus needed."

This Congress ran on jobs,
but they're focused on debt.

According to the payroll
company ADP--

I just solved
unemployment.

"AFL-CIO sours on Obama."

We've got an analyst lined
up to give a report card

on Obama's union
relationship.

Will the AFL-CIO still
be sour on him tomorrow?

- I don't know.
- Let's find out.

All right, to give us
a crash course in how best

to exploit this tragedy
and to erase all boundaries

of what should be used
as entertainment,

I've enlisted the help
of a master of the dark arts.

I understand I'm needed.

- Thank you. - Forget everything
you know about the news.

Done.
What's next?

I'm Charlie Skinner.

Good to meet you.

Should I just sit here?

Sure.

Should I call you
Mr. Hancock?

It's Schneider.

- Schneider?
- Ezra Schneider.

How the hell many aliases
do you have?

I beg your pardon?

Are you Late For Dinner?

Mister, I have no idea
what you're talking about.

Charlie.

That has to have been
strange for you.

That's going to be
a story you'll tell later.

Late For Dinner?

- Solomon Hancock.
- Charlie Skinner.

I thought because of
the carnation.

Did we say anything
about a carnation?

No, but it's usually
the international sign for--

it doesn't matter.

I'm a busy guy and if
you're faffin' me around...

Would you mind taking the
battery out of your cell phone?

The walls in the New York Public
Library are three feet thick.

That's why we're meeting here.
But I'd like you

to take the battery
out of your cell phone.

You have reason to believe
you're under surveillance?

Everyone's under surveillance.
If you've got a cell phone--

It's talk like that
that makes me--

Did I or did I not establish
credibility on May 1st?

You correctly predicted that
we'd all be called to work, yes.

Sometimes at the NSA,
we download a rolling bug

onto smartphones
to slave the microphone.

You ever get
an unwanted text message?

All the time,
but they're from my boss.

Here.

I'll never be able
to put that back together.

They're coming out with
a better model in six months.

That's unusual
for the tech industry.

Can you tell me a little
about yourself?

I started out chasing around
a Soviet Pacific Fleet

doing signal intelligence
cryptology for the Navy.

But when the Berlin Wall
came down, my war was over.

So I went into the private sector
like everybody else in the '90s,

only not for a dot-com,

doing data compression
for fiber optics.

Then 9/11 happened
and I decided

it was a good time to get back into
public service hunting bad guys.

You're an IT guy.

My title is Assistant
Deputy Director

of Technology and Systems,
Cryptology, and Mathematics at NSA.

I'm gonna have to--

I product test software.

- NSA software?
- Yes, sir.

Can you tell me
about the software?

It's data mining.

One of the ways the NSA
was tracking bin Laden,

or any terrorist
for that matter,

was to write code
that would sift through

millions of electronic
communications

looking for a needle
in a giant haystack.

You know the machine that
Batman uses in "The Dark Knight"

to find the Joker, but when
Morgan Freeman finds out about it,

he says, "I'm quitting because no
man should have this much power"?

- No.
- No what?

I do not know that machine.

Well, it exists.

We gave the contract to two
defense contracting big boys

and it was my job mostly to
make sure that they delivered

and that it worked.

The project title
is GLOBALCLARITY

and it intercepts
1.7 billion phone calls,

emails, and texts
every day.

- Legally?
- By what standard?

- The law.
- No.

It involves a significant
amount of illegal,

warrantless wiretapping
of American citizens.

Just to be--
when you say warrantless,

are you saying
unnecessary?

Without a warrant.
Warrantless.

We could hunt
for terrorists legally,

but due to our bosses'
devotion to GLOBALCLARITY,

the NSA has been happily
violating the Fourth Amendment,

USSID 18,

and about a dozen of the NSA's own
regulations about spying on Americans.

You've got guys
listening in on ex-wives,

dropping in on calls
from soldiers overseas,

checking out what
movie stars are up to.

Am I the first person
you've talked to about this?

No, stop confusing me with
Donald Sutherland in "JFK."

Well, a second ago,
you were Morgan Freeman.

I have testified
in front of Congress

and to the Pentagon Inspector
General. I got nowhere.

Nobody on the Hill wants
to admit it's fucked up

because nobody wants to
be seen as post-9/11 soft.

Where does AWM come in?

Atlantis World Media
owns Atlantis Cable News.

- Yeah.
- It also owns the tabloid "TMI."

- Yeah.
- The shit that's happening

at Murdoch's "News of
the World" in London,

"TMI" has been doing
the same thing for years.

- How high does it go?
- I don't know.

Does it go as high
as Leona Lansing?

- No.
- Good.

It goes as high
as her son.

"TMI" is doing phone
and computer hacking

and Reese Lansing knows?

Reese has been ordering it.

- I'm gonna give you--
- Hang on.

I need to digest that.

Reese Lansing
is James Murdoch,

but Lansing's
been ordering it.

Digested yet?

These classified?

Yeah, because I'm dying
to violate the Espionage Act.

These are just transcripts
of my testimony

before the House subcommittee
and the Pentagon.

Vet me, vet the material.
Take all the time you need.

Why are you whistle-blowing?

I fought the Soviets.

The way their government made
their people live their lives

was a very good reason
to fight them.

After 9/11,

we started doing
the exact same thing.

I didn't spend my life
fighting Communists

to have it come to this.

Report on GLOBALCLARITY.

And once I see that report,
I'll give you what you need

to protect yourself
from Leona Lansing.

How do you know we need
protecting from Leona Lansing?

Have you been listening?
'Cause we have.

This woman is the
best I've ever seen.

Center screen is Nancy.

These three corners are live
feeds of the guest experts.

- What are they experts in?
- Agreeing with everything Nancy says.

- But what keeps your atten--
- Excuse me.

This is Brian Brenner,
everyone.

It's possible he's going to
be writing a feature on 2.0.

But we're in a tryout
period right now.

Everything's off
the record.

Go ahead.
What keeps our attention?

Is the bottom right corner
where they're playing

a loop of little Caylee
from a home video.

Hell. Do you think it's
as bad as everyone says it is?

That was a tribute
to Caylee.

But how will they
explain the duct tape

around the child's mouth
and nose?

And how will they explain

all the lies
that Tot Mom told?

Now they're not talking
about the tattoo

on Casey's back, but they
put it full screen. Why?

Because Tess was just about
to look somewhere else,

so they changed the frame to anything
that might keep her attention.

He's right. I was gonna
Google Mac's hell question.

Plus tattoo
equals bad mom.

No one's ever gone broke
in America serving up

a woman who makes other
women feel superior.

The series of lies

that finally came crashing
down around her.

If she would lie about that,

why should I believe
an accident is true?

Don't spend time thinking
about her airtight syllogism.

Her EP's showing duct tape
and a plastic bag,

so you know you're watching
the real "CSI Miami."

...how to make weapons

out of home materials
found in the home.

About breaking necks.

How can they explain that?

They can't
explain it, Nancy.

The defense is doing what
the defense has to do.

Now, Bill Sheaffer
has done his job.

He agreed with Nancy. We don't
need to see his face anymore.

Look how cute Caylee is.

She deserved better
than a mom with a tattoo.

She deserved...

- She deserved...
- Me.

- Me.
- Me.

Tess, how's that
Google search coming?

It does look pretty bad.
A lot of fire.

You'll notice little of her coverage
in this instance is about the law.

You know, come to think
of it, I did notice that.

It's all based
on an emotional appeal.

The way she would with a jury if
there was no judge there to stop her.

Watch how she breaks down
courtroom footage.

Liz, let's see
the video of Tot Mom

and Jose Baez back at it
in court again today.

Not a good look between
a death penalty defendant

and the lead
defense attorney.

Two seconds.

Two seconds of Casey Anthony
walking past her lawyer--

and she'll show it
to you in slow motion

and from a different angle

and at regular speed and from
the original angle again.

- What does that remind you of?
- Instant replay in sports.

And she looks pretty
pissed at her lawyer.

And that's exactly why she's
showing it to you so many times.

So you have a chance to draw your
own thoroughly uninformed opinion

about an utterly
innocuous exchange.

She looks pissed.

I wonder if she's sleeping
with her lawyer. I bet she is.

I wonder if that's what she
looked like when she killed Caylee.

This is the best TV ever. I've got to
go on my Casey Anthony Facebook page

and see if my Casey Anthony Facebook
friends just saw Casey Anthony

make a Casey Anthony face
at her Casey Anthony lawyer.

All right, enough.
Will's a criminal prosecutor.

Maybe he can talk about how our justice

system wasn't built to
lock up guilty people.

It was built to keep
innocent people free,

which is something Americans should
be proud of and fiercely protect.

No.

He can't ever imply
that the viewer

doesn't already know everything
and that she might be innocent.

If we're gonna cover this,
we're gonna cover it our way.

What's the point of covering
it at all unless we do it

in a way that gets
our audience back?

A modest proposal.
We could ourselves

commit murder
on our air.

In your face,
Nancy Grace!

How do we get
the best guests?

There's a guy you're gonna have
to deal with named Dylan Kagin.

He's like the Broadway Danny
Rose of tabloid suffering.

He's an agent?

You ever ask yourself
why of all the missing kids

and murdered coeds,
most of them go unnoticed

- and some become national scandals?
- Sex appeal.

Right, but someone's got to find Lana
Turner sitting at the drugstore counter.

Dylan Kagin gropes through the
trailer park of American jurisprudence

for what he calls
"Oh, my God" stories.

Then he drops in on the victims,
the accused, the jurors, the cops,

whoever he can sell to the press,
the networks, and the studios.

He packages
the missing white girl.

All right, that'll be
the A block.

By 2:00, show me
where we are.

The B block's gonna
be Anthony Weiner,

so, Jim, start putting
something together.

All we really have are the pictures
and Weiner not answering questions.

- I know that. - You don't
want to wait until we have--

Facts? No, that would
be newsy and elitist.

Let's just call them--
the A and the B block--

let's just think
of them as a polished,

tightly produced
abomination.

I've been sitting here and I'm
getting a little sick of this.

- You and me both.
- Jesus Christ.

For a few weeks, we're not gonna ask
the country to eat its vegetables.

Why? Because there's
a debate we want to do

that trumps all of your Sarah
Lawrence ethical conundrums.

It shouldn't be
too hard to understand.

So get it the fuck together.

He happens to be right.

"War on drugs a failure."

I know how it feels.

Show me where
we are at 2:00.

Can I see you a second?
Yeah.

- Do you mind if I sit in on--
- Yeah, sorry, no.

Not sure that's the best
way to get good press.

May 1st, the night we got
bin Laden, I got a call

from an anonymous source
at 7:30

telling me the White House
would send an email blast

to all the news agencies
in 90 minutes,

and obviously it turned out
he was right.

He was demonstrating
his credibility.

His name is Solomon Hancock.

He works in software
engineering at the NSA

and he handed me a stack
of documents,

transcripts of his testimony
describing illegal surveillance.

We have to start vetting
him and the documents.

It's gonna take at least a
few days, but that's part one.

What's part two?

If we air his story,
he'll give us evidence

that "TMI"'s been doing the same
thing as "News of the World."

- Hacking?
- Everything.

- "TMI"'s been hacking?
- Hancock says he's got the proof.

Jesus Christ. How high
does he say it goes?

Reese.

- Let's get on with the vet.
- I'll have Jim run it.

- Is he up for this?
- He is, Will.

I taught him
how to do the news.

I taught them all
how to do the news.

Can you give us a second?

I'm done.

Why did it
have to be Brian?

Because I own him now.
He needs a cover story.

If he writes a negative
one, he'll get slammed

with the whole soap opera
of our history.

Are you lying right now?

- Anything else?
- Yeah.

Sloan says on Thursday, the House is
gonna vote to default on our loans,

leading to a global
economic meltdown.

Should I put that before or after
Anthony Weiner in his underwear?

I'm sure you'll
figure it out.

That's all for us tonight.

Tomorrow we'll be bringing
you all the highlights

from day seven of the trial
and Detective Yuri Melich,

the first officer to interview
Casey Anthony in 2008.

Terry Smith is coming up
from Washington

with the "Capital Report."
I'm Will McAvoy.

Good night.

Will McAvoy, your new
choice for Casey Anthony coverage.

- They're coming home.
- Yeah?

We promo'd
the hell of it.

We got 150,000
viewers back.

25-54,
almost all women.

That's toasters,
furniture, food, clothes,

kids' clothes,
vacation plans.

Our heads are above water
now, so do not stop.

- We won't.
- How about this heat?

- Yeah.
- 9:00 in the morning, it's already 87.

It's gonna hit 98. That would
beat the record for this day

- that was set in 1933.
- Yeah.

- You're looking at me funny.
- Yeah?

- I know you hate this.
- I'm looking at you the regular way.

- If you say so.
- I do.

There are also
tornado warnings.

- Reese.
- What?

- Nothing.
- All right, so it's gonna get up to 98.

That's a record. And there are
tornado warnings for New York City.

Well, you know, Aunt Bee,
tornados are just God's way

of destroying property
and killing people.

People like hearing
about extreme weather.

We're not doing a fucking
weather report, okay?

We're not coming up with
some "Tornado Watch" graphic.

We're a serious
news organization.

Tonight we'll be reporting on the killer
cocktail waitress and the congressman--

- Is Mac bitching at you?
- Not nearly as much as she should be.

I came in here to tell you
you got back 150,000 viewers

you lost while you were
trying to be above it.

We'll be sure not
to try that again.

98 degrees is when
we have power outages.

Wait a second.
Wait a second.

I don't want to go all
conspiracy theory on you,

but I think the heat might
be related to power outages.

- Take it easy.
- Say hi to your mom.

Will do.

Visiting hours will be
Tuesday and Friday.

Don't be nervous.

We got 150,000 viewers back
last night. Mostly women.

- I know.
- I was telling her.

You know, it's gonna get
up to 98 degrees.

Next person who tells me
about the damn weather...

Do you know what
you're doing here?

I've been asked to tell
you about the weather.

Does it feel to you like anyone in
this room is in the mood for a joke?

It absolutely does not.

We want you to lead
the vetting of this source.

He's telling us about illegal
surveillance at the NSA.

He's also telling us that "TMI" is in
the same game as "News of the World."

Jesus.

We're looking at a couple
of scenarios, Jim.

One is that we're sitting on a
scoop that could shake up the NSA

and maybe have the country take
another look at the Patriot Act.

But the "TMI" element,
doesn't that--

And another is that someone's
trying to discredit us

by having Will
get Dan Rather-ed.

You'll need to file a couple of hundred
Freedom of Information Act requests

and you'll need to get into
this guy's personal life

and you'll need
to do it all

without raising
any flags at the NSA.

Are you up for this?

- Yeah.
- We don't need it fast, we need it right.

- But we need it fast.
- I'll start mapping it out.

Jim, since the day
you started working here,

I never felt the need to
remind you about confidentiality

and I don't feel
that need now.

Okay.

- Gotcha.
- Oh, God.

- You feel like being interviewed?
- You read my mind.

I can't think of anything
I'd rather do right now

than be interviewed
by my ex-boyfriend,

except maybe eat my desk.

- It seems like a bad week to be here.
- It is.

I came here to write a story about how
Will and "News Night" changed overnight.

- And then you changed overnight.
- Look.

- It's the old Will all over-- -
These are extraordinary circumstances.

That's what everyone says when
they abandon their principles.

I'm no longer required
to live up to your standards.

- Fair enough.
- Thank you.

What's so special
about this debate?

If we get what we want,
no one will ever go back.

We'll have changed
the debates forever.

And your concern is that if your
ratings are low, you'll lose leverage?

- Yes.
- Is that your concern or Will's concern?

Will's concerns
are my concerns.

'Cause another way of looking at it
is that he lost his invisible friends

to Nancy Grace and he's using the debate
as an excuse to dumb the show down.

That's a pretty bold statement from
a guy who's auditioning for a job.

He's gonna give me the job. And
it's not like I don't know why.

- Do you?
- I do because I'm not a fucking moron.

The email that was read
by everyone in the world,

"I cheated on Will," you
were talking about me, right?

- Yes. - You were seeing
Will while we were together?

If you count drunk dialing me
at midnight and saying,

"Just come on over and crawl into
bed" as being together, then yes.

- I count it.
- Then yes.

You cheated on me
with Will?

Let's be as clear as anyone
has ever been about anything.

I cheated on Will
with you.

And I'm paying the price.

I work 30 feet from
the life I could have had

if I hadn't been so stupid.

And you're looking at
the life you could have had

if you hadn't been
a douchebag.

How's the interview
going so far?

Is douchebag one word
or two?

Come in.

- Sorry, I can come back.
- No, what do you need?

Ahem, well, there's a story
I'd like to pitch.

Brian, this is Neal Sampat.
Neal writes Will's blog.

- Will doesn't write Will's blog?
- Will can't find Will's blog.

Neal wants to be a producer,
so from time to time,

he pitches stories.
What do you got?

You know what
a troll is, right?

A tiny creature that stands
under a footbridge

and makes you answer a riddle
before you're allowed to pass.

- They're not real, man.
- I know that.

He means the other
kind of troll.

You don't know the first
clue what he means.

I mean the other
kind of troll.

A little backup
would have killed you?

Sorry, Internet trolls.
It's a play on a fishing term.

People who go to
message boards

and try to hijack the
conversation by being incendiary.

- What about them?
- Turns out they have their own websites.

Like an online clubhouse. And
to be accepted into the group,

you have to be able to point to
a successful incident of trolling,

a recent time when you made a whole
bunch of posters lose their minds.

Or better yet, got the site
monitor to shut down the board.

Actually, I like it.
And it's not about Bigfoot.

Write this down, "News Night" is
gonna break the story on Bigfoot.

We're not. Don't write that
down. Will they talk to you?

They won't talk to a reporter, but I
thought maybe I'd try to get in there.

Undercover? Aren't you gonna
have to say you trolled something?

I'm not gonna have to say it,
I'm gonna actually have to do it.

To who?

Well, I don't want to ding on
an innocent person for a story,

so I'm gonna have to do it
to one of us.

You can't be anonymous
on our website.

No, I mean do it to us
on another website.

- What would it be?
- I don't know yet.

Come back when you know, but you've
made it past the first hurdle.

Thank you.

- Sloan.
- How's her mood in there?

It's not good, but let
me ask you something.

For the sake of a story,

how would you feel about me going on
the Internet and saying vicious things

about you that might get an
argument started about misogyny?

- What kind of vicious things?
- I don't know.

- What would the general area be?
- I really don't know.

- Something about the way you look?
- Like what?

- I'd be making it up.
- What would you be making up?

It wouldn't be true.
It'd be something like--

something along the lines of
she screwed her way to the top

and she's got a big ass.
Only it would have to be--

Listen to me, Sampat.

- Do I?
- Of course not.

Okay.

- I can do it?
- You cannot.

If you want, you can say that
I made it to the final round

of the K through six regionals in
the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee.

That's not gonna help me.

You know, a lot of guys
like women with big--

Do they really?

Never mind.

I don't know what you're talking
about and I have my own problems.

- Jim.
- Yeah?

I got a woman on the phone
who says she's got some tweets

from Anthony Weiner
and wants to talk to us.

- What are you telling me for?
- Seniority?

Well, I'm handing her off to
the next most senior person.

Kendra, take
the Weiner girl.

- Gary, take the Weiner girl.
- Tess.

- Tamara.
- We were hired as interns the same day.

I was hired in the morning. You were
hired after lunch. Take the Weiner girl.

- Please, don't make
me take the Weiner girl.

Respect the seniority.

Who do I have seniority over?

Maggie.

- Can people still see me?
- On five.

Hi, this is Margaret Jordan.

I'm an associate producer
at "News Night."

Okay, can you spell
that for me?

Okay, wait.

Hang on.

I-- no, you're gonna
get a chance.

Uh, well, you certainly seem
to want to share your story.

You really can't just
drop in on a doctor.

- What if it's an emergency?
- You go to the emergency room.

They don't have
psychiatric emergency rooms.

They should.
You're a good reason why.

- You want a piece of me?
- Seriously?

- No.
- Yeah.

Does he look over
at the red light?

Does he look
every few minutes?

If I was
your therapist,

I'd definitely look
every few minutes.

Hey, hey,
you can't do that.

It's okay.
He likes me.

- Will.
- I'm sorry.

- I'm with a patient.
- I really just need a second.

I'm glad to see you back here, but you
need to come during your appointment.

I could be dead by then.

Are you having
suicidal thoughts?

- No.
- Then why did you say that?

- Just to get your attention.
- I'm going back to my patient.

Listen to me. I've been paying
250 a session for four years

without showing up
to a single session.

You owe me $100,000
worth of therapy.

I'll forgive the debt, we'll be
totally square, just give me one minute.

I'm sorry.
I'll be just a minute.

Wow, you caved for the money.
I'm kind of disappointed.

I didn't cave for the money. You're
getting the sessions you paid for.

You seem like you're in pain.

- He is.
- He said in pain, not a pain.

Oh, never mind, then.

What is it?

I'm doing all these things that
are wrong because of ratings,

and I'm making the staff do
things that they don't want to do,

I'm cursing them out, I'm ignoring
incredibly important news stories,

and I'm betraying the trust
of people who respect me.

And I did it all
in the blink of an eye.

- That can be traumatic.
- No, I'm fine with all of that.

"New York Magazine"

is gonna do a story on my show
and I get to choose the writer.

And I could have chosen anybody and
I chose Mackenzie's ex-boyfriend.

Of course.

- The one she cheated on you with?
- Yeah.

- Why?
- That's what I came here to ask you.

You're holding your hand
over the candle.

What do you mean?

You're holding your hand
over the candle

because you think the trick
is not minding.

Ah.

So if I just get through
this, I'll be fine.

- No.
- Why?

Because the trick
isn't not minding.

The trick is
forgiving Mackenzie.

It would be easier to hold
my hand over the candle.

I know.

Well, you've been no help at all,
but thanks. Sorry to barge in.

You know, while you're
working your way through this,

you're hurting Mackenzie.

I know that.

Show up for your
appointment.

I'm not doing it
on purpose.

Maggie.

Yeah.

- Sandy?
- Yes.

- Margaret Jordan. We talked on the phone.
- Nice to meet you.

- You got here okay?
- Yes.

I have a receipt for the cab.
Who do I give that to?

I'll take it.

So, you got some tweets
from Congressman Weiner.

And I've got copies
of them right here.

"'I like the cute
new pics of you.

Where'd you get those abs?'

'Glad you like them. When
do I get to see your swimsuit shot?'

'When are you
coming to see me?

Or just coming?'
'Make me an offer.'

'My door's always open.
Get it?'

'What's your
plan for us?'

'To get us in the mood, we
watch "The Daily Show" and "Colbert."

Then when we're really hot,
we go to the bookstore

and replace all the copies
of Glenn Beck books

with "The Audacity of Hope."
Or, if that's not your thing,

we can just get
drunk and fuck.'"

Why are you doing this?

Because the world needs to
know what kind of guy he is.

It sort of seems like you
were a willing participant.

I didn't know about
the other women.

- Did you know he was married?
- Of course.

I just didn't know
about the other women.

I was fooled and I think the world
needs to know what kind of guy he is.

By any chance, have you heard
of a guy named Dylan Kagin?

He's gonna be my agent.

Sandy--
can I call you Sandy?

Sure.

Sandy, the congressman
is in a lot of trouble.

He got himself into it

and he's probably not gonna
be able to get out of it.

Are you sure
you want to pile on?

I think people need to know
what kind of person he is.

All right.

Would you like
to be on our show tonight?

That's the thing. I'm doing
"Access Hollywood," "ET," and Fox.

The big three.
No problem.

We can do a pretape
in a few minutes.

Oh, you're a lifesaver.
I was hoping you'd say that.

No kidding?
Stay here

and I'll talk to my EP
and we'll get this going.

Could I possibly get
a decaf latte?

You cannot possibly get that,

but I'll have someone
bring you a coffee.

Well, I left it for you on
the left side of the desk.

And, yes, I signed it.

I don't know
anything about it.

Leona!

A word?

Okay, ask her to show it
to me on the plane.

Let's not stand
in the street.

Charlie, with that bow tie,

you look like
a balloon salesman.

No, I get in the car
and get out a minute later,

it looks like we're talking about
a problem or making a drug deal.

Just a minute.

We're gonna stand here,
smile and nod,

and do this and laugh.

We know where the tabloid
stories are coming from.

They're coming
from reality.

Only if you define
reality as fantasy.

And they're appearing
in a magazine you own.

How would it look if I had
one of our newsmagazines

go soft on our
flagship anchor?

We're calling "TMI"
a newsmagazine?

People need to know
if Taylor Swift is happy.

- I provide a public service for hundreds
of thousands-- - The public's grateful.

What did I tell you the day
after election night?

Friend to friend, I'd stop
coming after Will in the tabloids.

I told you to get him to
lighten up on the Tea Party

or a context
would be created

whereby his firing
would look reasonable.

- You need to hear me.
- I don't think I do.

The 112th Congress
wasn't even seated

and he took the Tea Party out for
a walk on the 9/11 Responders Bill.

Congress, Democrats
and Republicans,

spent eight years using 9/11
as a justification

for everything from tax
cuts to a foreign invasion.

So Will questioned
their change of heart

when it came to the police
and firemen's unions.

You made them look
like hypocrites.

By rolling tape.

House Financial Services,
insider trading,

Keystone XL, Joe Walsh,
Allen West,

Paul Ryan, and who am
I forgetting?

Oh, yes.
Charles and David Koch.

Keep smiling.

We lost a couple of awfully
helpful tax loopholes

that were tailored
to assets overseas.

And the FCC won't even let us
bid on the coming spectrum auction

because they want a full
report on whether or not

we're skirting antitrust.

So what was your
request again?

You don't want to do this.

I don't.

I really don't.

But I have to
and I will.

And friend to friend,

you let him know that he
is one tabloid fuckup

and a ratings point away
from having his own podcast.

I have to make my plane.

Fly safe.

- Unless there's a rally--
- I'm sorry, I've got to--

- Listen.
- Sloan.

Unless there's a rally
in the next 90 minutes,

the Dow's gonna close
down about 2.5%,

S&P and NASDAQ will
close down 2.3.

- Let me tell you why.
- I don't own a lot of stock.

- Let me tell you why.
- I really can't--

Stop avoiding this!

I just got off the phone
with these guys.

Listen to these quotes.
These aren't from liberals.

These are hard-core Wall Street guys
who, whatever the world may think of them,

know what they're talking
about and so do I.

Jamie Dimon at Chase says,

"Voting against raising the debt
ceiling would be a moral disaster."

The Barclays guys say, "This
debate is detached from reality."

My Goldman source says, "If the House
Republicans continue this debate,

I hope they're willing
to mark the end

of the dollar as a global
reserve currency."

Please notice that he
didn't say if the House

Republicans don't
raise the debt ceiling.

He said if the House
Republicans continue this debate.

That's all it takes.
Just the uncertainty.

That's why the Dow's gonna
close down 230 points today.

Because just the debate,
just the doubt,

just the possibility that the
House Majority might commit

the most self-inflicted
damage to the country

since the secession
of the South

has caused billions
in value to disappear.

Sloan, I understand.
I swear to God I do.

But you can't say the same
thing in the C block?

Don't pretend you don't know that
most people watch 10 minutes of news.

- The first 10 minutes.
- The vote isn't until tomorrow night.

And it's only the first vote.
You said yourself it was cosmetic.

Why do we have
to feature it tonight?

We should have been
featuring it weeks ago.

Why do we have to
feature it tonight?

To give time for the people
to call their congressmen

and say, "If you fuck
with the full faith

and credit of the US
Treasury, you're fired."

To give time for the people to jam the
phone lines of the district offices.

To give the people
time to say,

"I'm a fiscal
conservative

and you've got to put the pin
back in the grenade right now."

That's why.

I'm gonna do
everything I can.

Please do.

Don't worry about it.

She's just frustrated because
she can't get the word out

that this is a global
emergency unless you let her.

Appreciate your
clearing that up.

You know what, Mackenzie?

I'm not the one
who put me here.

Say what you want about me,
but I wouldn't have done that.

Does Will have the questions?

Tess is giving him
some cards now.

- Is that lighting okay for you?
- Yeah.

- How are we Chyroning her?
- I was gonna ask you.

Figure it out later.

- Sandy.
- Yes?

My name's Mackenzie.
I'm the executive--

I'm the executive producer
of "News Night."

- Can you hear me okay?
- Yes.

Okay. Thanks for being patient with us.

Will's just throwing on
a jacket and tie

and we'll be able
to do this.

- Real easy.
- You got it.

Hi, I'm a big fan.

- Hmm?
- I'm Sandy.

How do you do?

- Are we ready for
the pre-tape? - Yeah.

- Just count me down.
- Will.

Yes, I'm sure
I want to do this.

God, please give me a sign I'm
not doing a big thing badly.

We just lost power.

The whole
building just lost power.

I didn't know He
had that kind of comic timing.

♪ I was blinded
by the devil ♪

♪ Born already ruined ♪

♪ Stone-cold dead
as I stepped out of the womb ♪

♪ By His grace
I have been touched ♪

♪ By His word
I have been healed ♪

♪ By His hand
I've been delivered ♪

♪ By His spirit
I've been sealed ♪

♪ I've been saved ♪

♪ By the blood
of the lamb ♪

♪ Saved ♪

♪ By the blood
of the lamb ♪

♪ I'm so glad ♪

♪ I'm so glad ♪

♪ All right,
I'm so glad ♪

♪ So glad ♪

♪ Want to thank
You, Lord ♪

♪ I just want to
thank You, Lord ♪

♪ Yes, I do ♪

♪ I want to
thank You, Lord ♪

♪ Thank You, Lord ♪

♪ Oh, thank You, Lord ♪

♪ I just want to
thank You, Lord. ♪