NEWSROOM, THE: THE BLACKOUT, PART 1 - TRAGEDY PORN (TV)
Summary
One in this drama series about arrogant news anchor Will McAvoy and his clashes with his staff at the New York-based Atlantis Cable News network. In this first half of this two-part episode, Will sits down with a reporter, Brian Brenner, to discuss giving a rare print interview, though he issues a number of conditions and tells Brian he must "audition" first. Brian asks about Will's political stance and the changes made to News Night upon Mac's arrival, and Will orders him to report only minimally on their past mutual entanglement with Mac. Will then attends a meeting with Charlie, Mac and Reese, and Reese angrily tells them that they have lost huge numbers of viewers to Nancy Grace because they have opted not to report on the Casey Anthony murder trial. Mac maintains that the story is inappropriately salacious "entertainment," but Charlie orders her to start covering it, saying that they need to regain high ratings if they want Will to moderate an RNC Presidential debate and use their newly-crafted debate format. Mac is incensed, but Charlie reminds her that Leona needs little reason to fire Will, and she reluctantly gives in. Brian talks to Jim, who explains that he is playing Michele Bachmann in their upcoming mock debate, and Sloan appeals to Mac for a few extra on-air minutes to report on important debt-ceiling news, but Mac tells her that they need the time for the Anthony story, explaining that the debate is the "prize." When Sloan asks about Brian, Mac reveals that he is in fact her ex with whom she cheated on Will.
Neal and Jim discover that Congressman Anthony Weiner has been "sexting" women via Twitter, and when Weiner dodges Wolf Blitzer's questions on air, Will calls him, wanting to report on the story. He maintains that he cannot antagonize the RNC by "protecting" a liberal politician, but Mac feels that the scandal is banal and unimportant. Brian questions Will about his scathing reports on the Tea Party, and though Will refuses to comment on Leona and Reese, Brian correctly guesses that Leona has been "manufacturing" reasons to fire Will through the tabloid stories and the ratings issues. During a staff meeting, Maggie interrogates Jim-as-Bachmann about "her" claims that God told her to run for President, asserting that she is insulting all Christians by pretending to be a prophet, but Jim argues that they cannot mock the candidates with their questions. Mac is forced to eliminate other important stories to make room for Casey Anthony, inviting Don in to help. Charlie meets with his NSA source, Solomon Hancock, who discusses in detail his years of spy-like work and draws comparisons to the film "The Dark Knight" to explain that the government is using a program called Global Clarity to illegally wiretap citizens' phones. He reveals that Reese Lansing, like Rupert Murdoch at News of the World, has been ordering such wiretaps in order to get stories for TMI, and provides Charlie with transcripts of his testimonies.
Don shows footage of Nancy Grace's Casey Anthony reports, explaining how she uses strategic imagery to emotionally manipulate the audience, adding that they must use an agent, Dylan Kagin, who roots out gossipy "oh-my-god stories." Charlie tells Mac and Will about Solomon's claims, and they ask Jim to vet him as a source, reminding him about confidentiality and the Freedom of Information Act. Later, Reese happily tells Will that he has regained his audience numbers with the Anthony reports, and when Brian interviews Mac about her work at News Night, he is shocked to learn that she was in fact cheating on Will when they were together years ago. Neal proposes going undercover to root out Internet "trolls," or anonymous troublemakers, and Mac allows him to pursue the story. Will barges into Dr. Habib's office and asks why he chose Brian to write the article, and Jack suggests that he needs to forgive Mac. Maggie is forced to sit down with one of the "Weiner girls" who tweeted with the Congressman, though she quickly realizes that the young woman is exploiting the situation for fame. Charlie attempts to warn Leona to back off of Will, saying that he is onto her, but she refuses, still angry about losing certain "tax loopholes" and other advantages because of Will's political commentary. Sloan heatedly warns Mac about major shifts in the stock market and the Dow Jones, saying that they absolutely must feature the important economic story, but Mac is forced to stick with the Anthony and Weiner pieces. As she prepares to pretape the Weiner girl's interview, Mac sadly prays for a sign that she is doing the right thing—and the entire building's power goes out.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: August 12, 2012 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:31
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 108999
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; News broadcasting; Politics
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2012-2014
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Alan Poul … Executive Producer
- Scott Rudin … Executive Producer
- Aaron Sorkin … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Paul Redford … Co-Executive Producer
- Greg Mottola … Co-Executive Producer
- Denis Biggs … Co-Executive Producer
- Lauren Lohman … Co-Producer
- Eli Bush … Co-Producer
- Dauri Chase … Co-Producer
- Christine Larson-Nitzsche … Co-Producer
- Sarah Rath … Associate Producer
- Lesli Linka Glatter … Director
- Alex Wurman … Music by
- Thomas Newman … Theme Music by
- Jeff Daniels … Cast, Will McAvoy
- Emily Mortimer … Cast, MacKenzie McHale
- John Gallagher Jr. … Cast, Jim Harper
- Alison Pill … Cast, Maggie Jordan
- Thomas Sadoski … Cast, Don Keefer
- Dev Patel … Cast, Neal Sampat
- Olivia Munn … Cast, Sloan Sabbith
- Sam Waterston … Cast, Charlie Skinner
- Chris Messina … Cast, Reese Lansing
- David Krumholtz … Cast, Dr. Jack Habib
- Terry Crews … Cast, Lonny Church
- Paul Schneider … Cast, Brian Brenner
- Stephen McKinley Henderson … Cast, Solomon Hancock
- Adina Porter … Cast, Kendra James
- Chris Chalk … Cast, Gary Cooper
- Jane Fonda … Cast, Leona Lansing
- Margaret Judson … Cast, Tess Westin
- Wynn Everett … Cast, Tamara Hart
- Thomas Matthews … Cast, Martin Stallworth
- John F. Carpenter … Cast, Herb Wilson
- Trieu Tran … Cast, Joey Phan
- Charlie Weirauch … Cast, Jake Watson
- Alison Becker … Cast, Sandy Whiddles
- Martin Moran … Cast, Ezra Schneider
- Chasty Ballesteros … Cast, Tea
- Reggie de Leon … Cast, Karaoke Singer #1
- Yutopia Essex … Cast, Karaoke Singer #2