Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

There's so many show-offs in journalism,

so many braggarts and jerks.

They're always selling, always working the room,

always trying to make themselves look hotter

than they actually are.

The good news is reporters like that make it easy

to distinguish yourself.

If you're even a little bit humble, a little self-effacing

or solicitous, you stand out.

So you bring a coworker lunch if he's buried

under a deadline, you remember birthdays.

It's true. Journalism is hard work.

Everybody's under pressure.

Everybody's grinding to get the issue out.

Nobody's getting any sleep,

but you are allowed to smile every once in a while.

I mean, even Woodward and Bernstein went out

for a burger now and then, and they won a Pulitzer.

Some reporters think it's political content

that makes a story memorable.

I think it's the people you find, their quirks, their flaws,

what makes them funny, what makes them human.

Journalism is just the art of capturing behaviour.

You have to know who you're writing for,

and you have to know what you're good at.

I record what people do.

I find out what moves them, what scares them,

and I write that down.

That way, they're the ones telling the story.

And you know what?

Those kind of pieces can win Pulitzers too.

- Contributing writer for "Harper's Magazine,"

contributing writer for "George Magazine,"

contributing writer for "Rolling Stone,"

and of course,

associate editor of "The New Republic Magazine"

in Washington, DC. - Oh.

Sorry if I'm beaming,

but, ah, you know, I was his journalistic muse.

It's true.

- Just seven years ago, he was sitting-

- Right there.

I'm sorry, right there.

And I was doing the exact same thing you guys are doing,

grinding out pieces, and then having horrid nightmares

of Mrs. Duke and her infamous red pen.

And see what happens

when greatness is demanded of you?

Now he's at "The New Republic."

- And now I'm at "The New Republic."

In May, the editors

of "The New Republic magazine."

Probably "The Washington Post,"

"The New Republic" and "The Boston Globe."

- But the bill was blasted in "The New Republic" this week.

They called it "a cynical mess."

- Very helpful. Listen, I just wanted to get a confirmation.

So I said, ah, "network news, network news."

- Oh, right, right, that's that show that's on every night

between those Fixodent commercials, right?

- Shut 'em up.

Hey, Steve. - Hey, Steve.

- Hey, guys.

Gloria, that necklace is you.

- Thanks, doll.

I got some new merchandise for your girlfriend

- As soon as I get this piece done.

- How's it coming? - Horrible.

- It's the fundamental nature of the magazine, Lou.

Mallory, can I get some copies, please?

- Sure. - People want photographs,

they can buy "Newsweek." - They do buy "Newsweek,"

and "Time" and "US News and World Report,"

and our losses are a joke.

- Let me guess. He's on you again about a redesign?

- Yeah. Cover page and graphics.

- And photographs.

Let me remind you, Steve,

this magazine hasn't changed its look since the 80's.

- How is it?

- It's good.

- You hate it? - No, it's good, it's good.

It's just a little rough. - No, it's the,

it's the worst thing I ever wrote.

It's horrible.

If you guys don't help me with it,

I'm not even gonna send it in.

- When's it due?

Tomorrow.

I may have to kill myself.

I mean, "The New York Times Magazine."

Will you guys help me with it, please?

- Of course. - Of course.

- Thank you.

- Call for you on three, sweetie.

Something from policy review.

- When'd you start talking to policy review?

- I'm not. It's probably nothing.

Send it to my voicemail, okay?

Oh, and sweetie.

- Caitlin just told me that she needs, ah, gifts

for two showers next week?

Do you think you might have something for her?

- I'll get my box. - Thank you.

I couldn't resist.

So you wanna do this now or...?

- Yeah, in a second, I just have to return

a quick phone call.

I got you some gum.

Oh.

- If I were to throw a party where all we did

was play Monopoly, would you guys come?

- Could I be the little shoe?

- Of course.

- The lawyers have asked us to tone down

the cover on Serbia. - Dan?

- Yeah, they're afraid it might invite charges of libel.

- Yeah, um, ah, I know a little bit of libel law.

It's only relevant if the person in question

has been out of the public eye.

- Well, yeah, so there's Serbia,

hidden unknown to the world at large

until it appeared on the cover of "The New Republic,"

with our weekly circulation of 80,000.

81.5.

- You almost done with it, Rob?

- Ah, two days, tops. - Yes, two days.

Two days from Hanukkah. - Hey, it's basically finished

for the most part. - Next up, Amy?

- Ah, just finished the piece on ethanol subsidies.

- There are 16,800 magazines in this country,

but only one calls itself, "The in-flight magazine

of Air Force One."

And that's the thrill of working at "The New Republic."

You're underpaid, the hours are brutal,

but what you write gets read by people who matter,

presidents, lawmakers,

your work can actually influence public policy.

That's, that's an amazing privilege

and a huge responsibility.

I am sorry they, they don't wanna hear

the whole journalistic responsibility speech, do you?

You just wanna know how to get your name in print, right?

That sounds familiar. Okay.

Let me take you through the life of your typical piece

so you can see where some of the hurdles are.

We'll use one I wrote last year about a bunch

of young Republicans at a conservative's convention.

Now, journalism is about pursuing the truth,

and I would never encourage you to do anything sneaky

or dishonest in pursuit of a story,

such as assuming a phoney identity.

I don't know, man.

It seemed like a pretty good turnout to me.

- No, man. Conservatism's dead.

- "Dead?" - We're lost.

Damn straight.

On a story like that, your notes are crucial.

You have to record everything you see and hear,

every quote, every detail,

all the way down to the mini-bottles in the fridge.

- Like this guy who has to pee,

lost in the desert, looking for a tree.

- It's true. Completely true.

♪ Now that the night is over ♪

- You guys know what you're shopping for, right?

- Huh, totally.

- Get us a real heifer.

The fatter, the better. Bad acne would be a bonus.

- Let's do it.

No, no, no, no!

- Woo-hoo! - Come back!

- Woo! - Beauty!

- Get the harpoon! - Woo!

- I'll respect you in the morning! I promise!

Come on!

- Hey, Steve. - Hey, Chuck.

What are you working on?

Ah, a piece Gabriel Garcia Marquez

wrote about the Falklands War.

How about you?

Young Republicans at the CPAC Conference.

Pretty standard stuff.

Hotel ballrooms, boring speeches, chicken dinners,

which is why everybody spends their time

in the suites upstairs committing felonies.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah. I went to one.

The ballroom was empty, every delegate under the age of 25

was up on the fifth floor getting loaded.

Drugs, binge drinking, hookers. Gets pretty ugly.

- Sounds great, Steve.

So does yours.

Okay, well, I gotta get back to work.

Have a good lunch. - Thanks.

- Hold it.

Have to give myself a demerit for poor scene setting.

Let me explain. A year ago, Chuck Lane and I were peers.

He hadn't become editor yet.

Michael Kelly was editing the magazine then.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Duke. I know how you feel about clarity.

- We've gotta start calling some other places.

I don't think I can eat this stuff every day.

- Ah, was the Cannon building. You had it as "Restil."

I fixed it.

- Thank you. - I really liked it, Ames.

- But boring, right?

- No. No, I really, really liked it.

- Yes, dear? - Somebody for you on three.

Um, someone from "Harper's."

- When did you start talking to "Harper's?"

- I'm not. It's probably nothing.

Ah, could you send it to my voicemail, please?

- Very good. - Um, by the way, Glo.

That lipstick is the bomb.

Oh. Thanks, doll.

What is it, Midnight Mist?

- I really gotta stop doing that.

- What? - All I do is give people

more reasons to assume I'm gay.

I mean, lately it's everyone.

Like the other night I went out to dinner

with this guy from "The Post."

- Who? - I can't tell you.

He made me promise.

Anyway, we're walking around afterwards,

talking about Medicare, for God's sakes,

and then the next thing I know, we're standing on the corner

of 18th and T, and he, he somehow managed

to slip his tongue down my throat.

And I'm like, "Wait a minute. How'd this happen?"

- I don't understand.

- Yeah, neither did I.

- Hey. - Michael.

- You have a minute? - Of course.

- We have a problem with the "Spring Breakdown" piece.

I just got a letter from David Keen.

He ran the CPAC conference.

He's made some- - Are you mad at me?

- He's made some pretty serious charges.

We need to answer 'em.

- Okay. Um, my notes are at home.

I can be back in 20 minutes. Is that too long?

- Do you have notes of anything about the minibars?

'Cause that would help.

- I think so.

No, I'm sure. Why?

- He claims the Omni Shoreham doesn't even have minibars.

He mentioned it specifically.

- I saw them, no, there were, there were little bottles

of booze all over the room.

- Okay, um, I'll get Aaron and Rob into it

and start the fact check again.

- I'll get my notes. - Thank you.

- Ah, I'm sorry, we're gonna have to finish this later.

- No, no. I, I understand.

- Okay. - Thank you.

- What's wrong?

Just tell me.

- Keen was right. Michael.

I messed up.

I made a huge error.

I don't know what to say. If you want me to resign, I will.

- I want you to tell me what happened.

- They don't have minibars at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

I, I guess I just saw all those little bottles

and I made an assumption,

which I know we're never supposed to do.

I'm really sorry.

Ah, those guys were drinking out a of a rented refrigerator.

A mini fridge.

- That's it? - Yeah.

- The rest of the piece is solid?

- Well, yeah, of course.

- Go home, Steve. Your resignation will not be required.

- Really? You're not mad?

- Of course not.

Ah, do you want my notes?

- Have a good night.

- Thanks, Michael. Thanks for backing me.

- It's what editors do.

- Goodnight.

Hi, ah, front desk, please.

Hi, I need some information.

Um, do the suites at your hotels have minibars?

Ah, well, can a guest rent something like that?

Like a mini refrigerator or something? They can't.

Okay. Thank you very much.

And she says,

"I didn't invite Vernon Jordan that evening

because my guests of honor were girls from Smith College.

Some of them were virgins,

and I wanted to keep it that way."

- And you're gonna put that in the article, right?

- Gosh, Alec, I don't know.

I mean, you know, "George" is such a dignified publication.

You wouldn't wanna put in something that gossipy, would you?

No, absolutely not.

- Of course I'm putting it in.

- Thank you, Stephen.

You're gonna make me look very, very smart.

- Ah, the Fritos are running dangerously low.

I'll be right back.

Can't hide in here all night, Ames.

- Can I ask you something? - That's a good job.

- What is this? I found it in the freezer.

- You said you hated how the Diet Coke at parties

was always at room temperature and how if you wanted to,

to drink it cold, you'd have to put it on ice

and then it would get too watery.

Don't you remember? - Yeah, I do,

but I said that a couple of years ago.

- Steve, I'm gonna call her tonight,

but, ah, thanks for having me.

- Oh, thanks for coming.

- Alphabetized beer. That's perfect.

- Drive safe. Alec.

- Who's he?

- Associate editor at "George."

- Hmm. When'd you start talking to "George?"

I'm really not.

It's probably nothing.

- You know, if they stoop any lower,

pretty soon you won't be able to tell the difference

between "Time" and "People."

- You say that as if there is a difference

between "Time" and "People." - Exactly.

Hey, thank you, Steve.

- What?

Are you mad at me?

- I told you, I do not respond to, "Are you mad at me?"

I'm not your kindergarten teacher.

I just thought we'd been over this a thousand times already.

You can't go to law school.

You don't wanna go to law school. Remember?

- I, I know, I know. Ah, it's only nights.

I wouldn't have to stop working or anything.

I'm just gonna go put these down. I'll be right back.

- No, I wanna talk about this.

I told you, it's my parents. Okay?

They never shut up about it.

If I don't go, they won't let me be a journalist anymore.

- Let you? You're 24 years old, Stephen.

- You don't know how things go where I grew up, Caitlin.

Okay? There are rules there.

If your son's not a doctor or a lawyer,

you keep your curtains closed.

- You're writing for "The New Fucking Republic."

Isn't that good enough?

- Not in Highland Park.

I'm sorry.

I know, it's ridiculous. - And stop apologizing

for everything.

I was looking through your mail. You should be pissed at me.

I'm not.

- Well, you're gonna throw this out, right?

- I can't. I'm sorry.

Every station on the radio is talking about it.

Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield,

and these are supposed to be news stations.

Um, so on Tuesday, I started calling a few of them,

and I finally got through to one, ah,

a Bible talk station in Kentucky.

And I managed to convince

the screener that I was a behavioral psychologist

who, um, specializes in, ah, human-on-human biting.

I told the guy that I'd done all this extensive research on,

on people who chomp flesh under extreme stress.

What did they say?

- They put me on the air. I took calls for 45 minutes.

- Oh, my God. - Oh, God.

- Where does he find these people?

- It is kind of stupid. I know, it's silly.

I'll probably just kill it.

Sure you will.

- Yeah, sure. - Really?

Oh my God.

- Ah, does that mean you'll help me with it?

- Why do you have finals this week or something?

- Okay, moving right along.

Ah, Chuck. What do you have for us?

Well, that's a,

it's a bit of a hard act to follow.

Very hard, act to follow. Okay.

I'm starting the piece on Haiti.

And I'll be going to...

- Hey. Don't let me interrupt.

- Hey, Marty. - Michael

- I'm gonna be going down to Port-au-Prince for a few days.

Marty Peretz, our boss.

He's a little scary.

How about the commas and dates?

Are we supposed to circle those too?

- Let's just get this done. Okay?

- What the hell is this?

Marty told us to circle all the commas

in the last issue so he could show us

how we use them improperly. - What?

- He said, "Commas should always appear in pairs."

Apparently, the issue is "rife with comma errors."

- "Rife?" - That's what he said.

- I see.

No, I'm not angry, Marty, I'm embarrassed for you.

These people work grueling hours for meager pay.

They deserve a "thank you," not another one

of your world famous tantrums.

Yeah, okay.

I'd resigned before I'd let you bully them

like that again, and I will.

Do you understand that?

Okay. Thank you.

Ah, the great comma debate is history,

so we can all go back to work.

- There are good editors, there are bad editors.

You'll have both.

My hope for you, though, is that once,

at least once, you get a truly great one.

Hmm. A great editor defends his writers.

Against anyone, he stands up and fights for you.

Michael Kelly was that kind of editor.

He had that kind of courage,

and that's what hung him.

Hello?

- Hey, Chuck, it's Marty Peretz. You got a minute?

- Of course. How are you, Marty?

I'm in a bit of a uncomfortable situation, Chuck,

and I thought you might be able to help me

- Sure. - It's about Mike.

- Oh. - He and I, well,

it hasn't been working out for some time now, as you know.

The tone of the magazine, I think it's gotten too nasty.

It's strayed from the traditions that make it great.

And I'm gonna be making a change.

I see.

I'd like you to step in for him, Chuck.

I'd like you to become editor.

- "Editor?" - There's a catch, of course.

Mike doesn't know any of this yet,

and it's gonna be two or three days before I tell him,

so it'll have to remain between us until then.

Would that be a problem for you?

- Marty, Mike's a friend.

I appreciate that, Chuck, but,

but I can't remove him until I know who's gonna be

his replacement for continuity's sake.

So this is how it has to be.

- I'm gonna have to think about this.

I'm gonna have to discuss it with Katerina.

Oh, of course, of course. Listen, I-

- Marty, have you thought about the impact

this might have on the staff?

They feel very...

He's earned a lot of loyalty there.

Huh, yes, mostly by fighting with me.

- Well, the point is, I haven't earned that kind of loyalty.

And if it looks like- - I'll be in New York

tomorrow, we'll go over all this in detail.

Can you call me at the hotel? - Yeah.

- I really appreciate this, Chuck, your discretion.

Night.

Night, Marty.

- So I just got off the phone with Marty

and I've been fired effective immediately.

I'm to be out of the building by 5:00 PM

Chuck Lane has been chosen to replace me.

- Chuck is not an editor. He's barely even a writer.

- There's no way I'm gonna be able to work for him.

- We should have seen this coming.

The way he laughs whenever Marty

tells a joke in the meetings, they're never funny,

but there's Chuck, completely howling.

He's so political. - And stiff.

And humorless. - And pissy.

I mean, how pissy does he get

whenever you try to fact check one of his pieces?

It's like, "I'm sorry, but we have an obligation

to get our facts straight." - Okay, let's not overdo it.

This is still a great magazine.

It's still an important magazine.

And Monday morning, he's gonna be running it.

- I'm gonna barf. - All right.

Let me get outta here. Okay?

Well, I just want to thank you all again.

Truly...

Um, I have loved every second of this.

- Good luck, Mike. - You too, Chuck.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- Hey. - Hey.

- So, ah, sorry about, um, what happened when he left.

I just didn't know what to do.

- Thanks.

- Need any help, the boxes will be in my office.

So Chuck took over.

And the job, for the first time ever,

began to feel like a job.

But I'm being unfair.

The truth is, I wrote 14 pieces

while Chuck was editing the magazine,

and the last of them was the biggest story I ever wrote.

Is anyone interested in hackers?

Ah, 'cause I met this kid named Ian Restil.

Biggest computer geek of all time.

He hacked his way into the database

of a company called Jukt Micronics,

and posted naked pictures of women

and the salary of every Jukt employee on Jukt's website

with a note saying, "The big, bad bionic boy

has been here, baby."

- Shady, still. - The guys at Jukt

decided that it would be cheaper to hire him

as a security consultant than it would be

to try to stop him, so they met with him last week

at the hotel where the National Hackers Conference

was taking place.

It was the chairman from Jukt, Restil,

Restil's mother and Restil's agent.

- No. - Yes.

Hackers have agents too.

All right, I was at the table with these guys.

Restil's just laying out all of his demands.

- I want a Miata.

- "I want a trip to Disney World."

- I want "X-Men" comic book, number one.

- I want a lifetime subscription to "Playboy."

And throw in "Penthouse."

- And they're complying with every single word.

- Excuse me, sir. Pardon me for interrupting.

We can arrange more money for you

and you can buy the comic book yourself.

And when you're of a more appropriate age,

you can buy the car and, ah,

pornographic magazines on your own.

- Cool.

- After that, after they have the meeting,

he goes back into the conference

where all these hackers have gathered,

and they're treating him like he's a rock star.

Then Restil jumps up on a table, and he's like...

"I want a Miata!"

- He says, gyrating his hip like this, "I want a Miata!

I want my 'Playboys!' I want a trip to Disney World!"

Show me the money! - "Show me the money!

Show me the money!"

Turns out, there are now 21 states considering versions

of a law called, "The Uniform Computer Security Act,"

which would criminalize immunity deals between hackers

and the companies they've torched.

Meanwhile, Restil's agent claims a client list of over 300,

one of whom was once paid a million dollars

and a monster truck. - No.

No.

- It's unbelievable.

It's, ah, really silly, I know.

Um...

I'm not even sure if I'm gonna finish it.

- Shit.

You rang? - Yes, I rang.

Why didn't you get this?

- Yeah. Oh, the, I don't know.

Hey.

- Hey.

Is it pronounced "Juked" or "Jukted?"

- It's pronounced, gimme back my article.

Hey.

Adam. Can you give him man a minute?

- Oh, yeah. I'm sorry.

Ah, it's just that, ah,

this "New Republic" piece is a fucking sieve.

I started with a check on Jukt Micronics,

which is supposed to be this major

software company in California.

I went through every search engine on the web,

no matches found.

So I call 411, every area code in the state.

There's no listing anywhere for a company

called Jukt Micronics.

Tried the, ah, California Tax Franchise Board.

There's no record of taxes ever having been paid

by a company called Jukt Micronics.

Tried the state comptroller's office,

no license ever been applied for

by a company using that name.

Then I called all the hackers I know,

asking if any had heard of a National Assembly of Hackers

or of a hacker by the name of Big Bad Bionic Boy, nothing.

I even tried Ian Restil himself.

There's no listing for the kid in DC, Virginia, Maryland.

There's no record of him ever having attended

a public school before, more?

- Please. - Ah, this guy Joe Hiert,

was described in the Glass piece as being

this former basketball agent,

yet no one by that name has ever been registered

with the NBA and none of my hackers knew of him.

Look, I even checked the names of every government and...

- I was just getting some coffee.

- I even checked the names of every government employee

quoted in the piece against a book listing the names

of every government employee in the entire United States,

none of the Glass sources were listed.

But there is one thing in this story that checks out.

- What's that?

- There does appear to be a state

in the Union named Nevada.

David, for Christ's sakes.

- Oh, God, I'm sorry, Stephen.

I just wanted to see if you'd read it yet,

and it was sitting right here, you know?

Don't hate me, okay?

- Stephen, you shredded it.

I'm trying to spare you a spanking, David.

You've got blind quotes all over the place.

Your facts are shaky, I mean,

the, the, the line about the turnover at DOT

was low by four and a half percent.

- I checked. - Of course she did.

- Robin and Aaron would kill you over that kind of stuff.

This is "The New Republic," remember?

Nothing slides here, if you don't have it cold,

you don't turn it in ever.

- Okay. - Look, bring me your notes

later and we'll go through it together.

There's a lot about it that I liked.

- Really? - Really.

Now get back to work. Okay?

The mail room floor needs scrubbing.

- Okay. Hey, thanks, Stephen.

- You have one unheard message. First message.

Hi, Stephen, this is Adam Penenberg

from Forbes Digital Tool.

I just got done reading your hacker article.

First of all, congratulations.

I mean, everybody here just loved it, ah,

but we wanted to do a companion piece to it,

sort of a day two story,

and I'm having some trouble tracking down Ian Restil.

Ah, you think I could get a phone number on him from you?

- Look, I think it's good that you tried this.

It's good to stretch, I just,

I don't think you're writing to your strengths here.

- Can, can I... - I mean...

He was, he was like, "whatever," and hung up.

- I'm wondering why you'd wanna stray

from the sort of things you do so well?

- Um, um...

Have you noticed the way Steve's phone

has been ringing lately?

Do you see all those editors at the correspondent's dinner,

the way they were circling him?

- Is that what you want, Amy, to get a bunch

of smoke blown up your ass by a pack of editors?

- Yes. Yes, it is.

Caitlin, he's going to double his salary

freelancing like that.

These guys don't want policy pieces anymore.

They want color, they want nuance, humor.

- But Amy, you don't write funny.

It's a little funny,

isn't it?

- I was just looking for Steve.

- He's in his office.

- You got a minute, Steve? - Yeah.

- Do you have phone numbers for all your sources

on the "Hack Heaven" piece?

Ah, but they're at home. - Can I get 'em?

- Of course. Um, did I do something wrong?

Are, are you mad at me?

- No, I just need the phone numbers.

- Okay.

- Okay, okay, I'm trying to keep cool about all this,

but you know, the Uniform Computer Security Act

in the Glass piece, supposed to be under debate

in 21 state legislatures,

I just checked all 50, no such act.

- Beautiful. - And, ah, Julie Farth,

worked from the Computer Security Center,

not too sure she exists either.

Same with Jim Gord

of the Center for Interstate Online Investigations.

And I've got nothing on the National Assembly

of Hackers or Frank Juliet.

- Man. - Do you know why

this is so great?

I mean, do you see the irony here?

"The New Republic," snobbiest rag in the business,

"the in-flight magazine of Air Force One,"

and their star goes out and gets completely snowed

by a bunch of hackers.

I mean, God couldn't have written this any better.

Adam? - Yeah?

- Long as I'm grinding away on this thing,

any chance you'd share your byline with me?

Forget it.

- We are in uncharted territory here, Adam.

An online magazine going after a giant?

You should have somebody beside you to take some

of the flack in case this thing blows up.

- Gosh, that's touching.

- You're completely swamped.

I mean, I know you're behind on the Kent Police piece

and I know it's due Friday. - I'll get to it.

- Look, everything that I'm working on is so dull

and this is spectacular.

- Andy, no.

- Look, it's not like you found this story yourself.

Kambiz just handed it to you.

If I hadn't have been at the dentist,

it might be me about to get famous.

So why don't you just share the wealth, okay? Shit!

That came out a lot uglier than I meant it. Sorry.

- Hey. - Hey.

Well, Ian Restil emailed me right back.

It might be a little tough to put you in touch

with him directly though, or at least until next week.

This is his email.

"Your story screwed up my deal.

I don't to talk to, to you."

I think he meant, "I don't wanna talk to you."

Yeah, ah, "I'm on vacation with my parents,

so leave me alone."

- What kind of parent goes on vacation

with their kid in early May?

- Hmm. That's a good question.

I guess you have to know his mom. She's a little quirky.

Ah, that's his email address,

ah, if you wanna write him yourself.

Um...

These are all my notes.

Um, that's the number for the National Assembly of Hackers.

Don't be thrown if all you hear is like a dark,

deep, heavy breathing, it's, I don't know.

They're outgoing voicemail message.

Ah, don't ask me why.

Um, and then that's, that's the number for Jukt Micronics.

The chairman's name is George Sims.

I, I can't figure out why this Penenberg guy

would have such a hard time finding it,

but you know, whatever.

Ah, that's the URL to their website.

And then I can't, I can't seem to find Joe Hiert's number.

Ah, I was looking all over at home and it's somewhere there.

I know it is, so I'll just get that to you

tomorrow, if that's okay? - Sure.

- Yeah. He's Restil's agent.

Should I, ah, I'll give you some privacy.

- Ah, no, have a seat. 650, is that Palo Alto?

- Ah, no. Silicon Valley.

You'll probably get a voicemail. I usually do.

You've reached the offices

of Jukt Micronics.

Please leave a message.

- Hello, it's Charles Lane, I'm calling

from "The New Republic Magazine" in Washington, DC.

I'd like to speak to George Sims, if I could.

- They already have our number.

- Hmm. I guess you already have our number.

Thank you. - I'm sorry

Ah, we've just like spoken a million times now.

That's actually his voice on the answering machine.

Sims is so hands on that he won't even let his secretary

do an outgoing message.

Who's next?

- Ah, Penenberg.

- Oh.

- This is Adam. - Hi, it's Chuck Lane.

- Hi, Chuck. - I've got a phone number

for you. - Ah, phone number for what?

- For George Sims at Jukt Micronics.

You got a pen? - Yeah, sure.

Okay, thanks.

Ah, it's phone number for Jukt Micronics.

You've reached the offices of Jukt Micronics.

Please leave a message.

Do me a favour.

Call this number the same time I do.

Okay? - Okay.

Ready? - Yep.

Go.

You've reached the offices of Jukt Micronics.

Please leave a message.

- What'd you get? - Voicemail.

I get a busy signal.

Hang up.

Try again. Okay?

Redial.

Busy signal.

- You've reached the offices - I got a voicemail.

- of Jukt Micronics. - Hang up.

Please leave a message.

A major software company with one phone line?

How you doing?

Mm. Good.

He's up to 103.

Oh, shit.

Come here buddy.

Should I give him my bath? - That would be great.

Yeah.

How you doing?

Hello?

- Hello, this George Sims. May I speak with Charles Lane?

- One moment, please. '

- Honey, it's George Sims.

Oh.

- I'll take him. Come on, sweetheart.

Yes, shush, shush.

Yeah, you're such a good boy. - Hello?

- Yeah. This is George Sims of Jukt Micronics.

Am I speaking with Charles Lane?

- Mr. Sims, thank you for calling me back. Um...

I don't have time for this, actually.

We're trying to have an office party.

Look, if you were calling for a comment

on your story, I don't have one, other than to say,

I wish you'd never run the stupid thing.

That stuff was supposed to be off the record

and your reporter knows it, that Glass guy.

- I'm just calling to verify some information.

I'm not verifying anything.

Bottom line is I'd like you guys to basically get lost.

Okay?

- Hello?

Hey.

David.

- Oh, I'm sorry, Steve. - Shit.

- I didn't mean to startle you.

I just thought you'd like a cup of coffee.

- What are you doing here? - Working late,

working on my article so I don't get shredded again.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Yeah, so I always forget to ask you,

ah, how are your studies coming?

- They're fine. I'm, I'm just buried.

- You're buried, right.

Okay. I should probably let you get back to it.

Is there anything else you need?

- No, um, goodnight, David.

- All right, thanks, Steve.

- I got it.

Hello? - Chuck, it's Steve.

- Hi, Steve. - Hey.

Sorry to be calling so late.

I, um, I was just wondering,

did you get a call from the Jukt guy, ah, George Sims?

- I did. Yeah.

- Yeah, ah, I was just sitting here

and I realised that I'd given him your home number

without asking you first and, um, wanted to apologise.

- It's fine.

- Sort of a prick, didn't you think?

- I couldn't really tell because he hung up so fast.

Are you at home, Steve?

- No. Why?

- I left a message on your machine.

The "Forbes" guys wanna talk to us again.

It's a conference call at 9:00 AM

- Sure. Sounds like a party.

- Yeah.

- Okay. Ah, night, Chuck.

See you in the morning.

- That's weird.

Morning. - Hey.

Wanna laugh?

- Sure.

- The website for Jukt Micronics.

- Oh, good. - Yeah, you might not

think so when you see what's on it.

I don't think Mr. Sims liked our piece that much.

Ah, and I found this too on my fridge for some reason.

Ian Restil's agent, Joe Hiert.

- I'd like to pause for a moment.

You can't really go into the world

of journalism without first understanding

how a piece gets edited at a place like "TNR."

This is the system that Michael Kelly

brought with him from "The New Yorker."

A three-day torture test.

If your article's good, the process

will only make it better.

If your article's shaky, you're in for a long week.

A story comes in and it goes to a senior editor.

He or she edits it on computer,

then calls in the writer who makes revisions.

Then the piece goes to a second editor

and the writer revises it again.

Then it goes through a fact-check

where every fact in the piece, every date, every title,

every place or assertion is checked and verified.

Then the piece goes to a copy editor

where is scrutinized once again.

Then it goes to lawyers who apply

their own burdens of proof.

Marty looks at it too.

He's very concerned with any kind

of comment the magazine is making.

Then production takes it and lays it out

in column inches and type.

Then it goes back on paper, then back to the writer,

back to the copy editor, back to editor number one

and editor number two, back to the fact-checker,

back to the writer, and back to production again.

Throughout, those lawyers are reading

and rereading, looking for red flags.

Anything that feels uncorroborated.

Once they're satisfied, the pages are reprinted

and it all happens again.

Every editor, the fact-checkers,

they all go through it one last time.

Now, most of you will start out as interns somewhere,

and interns do a lot of fact-checking.

So pay close attention.

There is a hole in the fact-checking system, a big one.

The facts in most pieces can be checked

against some type of source material.

Ah, if an article's on say, ethanol subsidies, you can check

for discrepancies against the congressional record,

trade publications, LexisNexis, footage from C-Span.

But on other pieces,

the only source material available are the notes

provided by the reporter himself.

- Steve, this doesn't look like a real business card to me.

- Yeah, I know. That, that's the kind of clown this guy is.

He won't even pay to have real cards made.

- All right.

My office at nine. Okay?

- Yeah.

Good morning.

- A few other people we can't seem to locate,

ah, Julie Farthwork, Frank Juliet,

and Ian Restil's agent Joe Hiert.

We called the numbers you gave us,

we got voicemails for all three

and the emails were sent back,

"no address" or "account closed."

- Really?

'Cause I've emailed them about a million times each.

Hiert's online all day long.

- Did you ever call these people and get them directly?

- No, ah, I always left messages

and spoke to them when they called me back.

- And the references in the article

to Nevada law enforcement officials.

Was Jim Gort the only one you spoke to?

- Yes. - Do you have a phone number

for him? - Yeah, definitely.

- By the way, what, what was your basis for writing

that Jukt was a big-time software company?

- Well, I didn't that, that was added by the copy desk.

- And, ah, was the Hacker's Conference

where you first met the Jukt executives?

- No, that part of the article is misleading.

I, ah, I was never in the Restil's home at all.

- You weren't in Restil's home with the Jukt executives?

- No, I didn't mean to imply that I had been.

Sorry about that. Did the fax come through okay?

- Yes, it did.

Ah, I think the address must have gotten garbled.

We can't find the site.

- Okay. You wanna read it back to me?

- Sure. - You gave us

"members.aol.juktn.html."

- Wait, was that an M? - I'm sorry?

- After Jukt, was that an M as in micronics?

- No, it was an N as in not working.

- Try M. - Okay.

- Sorry about that. I, I was just rushing.

Of course.

- But I do find myself wondering, Stephen,

why would a major software company put their website

where only a AOL members can access it

as opposed to the entire web?

- I have no idea.

I don't have a website,

so I don't really know that much about them.

I would trust you guys to know better than me.

- Okay. Looks like we have the Jukt website up now.

I have to say, Stephen, this looks very suspicious to me.

- How so? - Quite frankly,

it doesn't look like a real website.

It looks like a site that was created to fool someone.

- I don't know much about computers. Could somebody do that?

- Of course. - Very easily.

So easily, in fact, it's incredible.

- Hey, do you guys still want that number for, ah, Jim Gord?

'Cause I just found it in my notes.

- Yeah, sure.

- All right, 605-84- - 6, oh, wait.

- Sorry? - Ah, 605.

That's not Nevada.

- Oh.

I guess I got 'em mixed up with another source.

Sorry about that one. Oh, you know what it was?

Jim Gord was actually the guy who told me

about the law enforcement officials.

Um, I don't know what I was thinking.

Um, I'm gonna have to get you that.

- Steve, give him the number.

- This guy's toast.

All right, Stephen, in light of all this,

how confident are you in this story of yours?

- Are we off the record? - If you like.

Well, off the record,

some of the things that you've brought up, the website,

the idea that I was always speaking

to these people through voicemail,

that, that is that they were always calling me.

It didn't seem strange before,

but clearly there are some problems with the story.

You've pointed them out.

One, one portion of it was structured in a way that...

Ah, I just, well, in light of all this,

I just, I'm, I'm increasingly beginning

to believe that I've been duped.

And so we hang up after he's basically let these guys

interrogate me for an hour,

and I, I go, "Chuck, what happened?

I mean, why didn't you back me up?"

He goes, "I'm sorry Steve.

I gotta protect the magazine. I mean, I'm the editor."

- Typical.

- He's being such an asshole.

So I'm dead pretty much.

Yes, this is Kambiz?

- Can we have a talk here just to editor to editor?

- Sure. Go ahead.

- Completely off the record?

And really almost human being to human being?

- Of course.

- You guys have discovered something

that a troubled kid has done,

but I still don't know how you plan to play it.

- Chuck, we're not in the business

of gotcha journalism here.

I have no interest in embarrassing you

or "The New Republic." - I'm not worried about me

or the magazine, that's fair game,

but there's a kid here who basically

just plainly screwed up big-time.

His reporting was sloppy, we know that,

but we're trying to handle it internally at this point.

Just as you would. - Listen,

we want to run something along the lines

of a trick was pulled and some very clever hackers

managed to create an illusion.

- I can't tell you what to print or not to print.

You guys are journalists, but he could be very hurt

by what you guys publish, his career.

- Chuck, I understand. I do.

I would hope if I made the mistakes he made,

paper would be generous with me,

but this concerns the very field we cover.

We have to run it.

And when we do, we're gonna need a comment from you.

So given everything that's happened,

how strongly are you gonna stand behind this story?

- I'm looking into it.

- It's really not that big a deal.

I mean, you got fooled by a source. It happens.

We'll print a retraction and that'll be that.

- Steve, it's not like it's gonna hurt your career.

- Of course, if you weren't so distracted by your classes,

maybe this never would've happened.

- Yeah, I know. I, I really gotta quit.

You weren't right.

- Can I speak to you for a minute, Steve?

- What about?

- Let's do it in private.

We need to take a drive to Bethesda.

- Huh. What for?

- I wanna meet Joe Hiert. - I already told you.

Nobody knows where he is.

- Well, maybe if we go to the hotel

where he met with Restils and Sims,

ah, someone will remember him.

- Chuck, there were - Have some clue

as how to find him. - hundreds of people there.

- Okay? - These "Forbes" guys

wanna come down on you. - This is ridiculous.

- They're highly suspicious - You know?

- about some of the material in that article.

You know that? - Yeah.

- But they're gonna go online

with their piece tomorrow.

- Oh. - Okay?

- Yeah. Yeah.

- Now, Steve.

Steve? - Yeah?

- If we can find Hiert, I can back 'em off for a day or two.

Okay?

- Okay, I'll get my notes. - Okay.

- All right. - Let's go.

- We were at this table. Restil sat here.

His mother was on his left, Hiert. Sorry.

His mother was on his right, Hiert sat there.

but then Restil wanted him closer.

So he slid his chair over. Sims sat here.

He had a lawyer next to him. I forget the guy's name.

It's in my notes. Somebody was smoking at this table.

So then Restil's mother insisted that we move

to one farther away over there.

- The hacker conference was near here, right?

- Yeah. The building next door.

- I don't remember from the article.

How many people did you say were at this thing?

- Ah, it looked like a hundred. It might have been two.

It's in my notes.

- 200 people here?

- Yeah. They moved in and out.

I mean, most of them were kids.

- That doesn't seem credible to me.

- All I know is I was here. All of us were right here.

- Excuse me, sir, can I help you?

- Yes, you can.

We're looking into a conference

that was held here a couple Sundays ago

with computer hackers.

You remember anything like that?

- Are you sure you're in the right building, sir?

- Yes. We're sure.

Why's that - Buildings closed on Sunday.

- All I know is I was here. The conference was right here.

That's why the Restils only stayed a few minutes.

Okay? Because it was such a, a dumb place to squeeze into.

So they, they went to a restaurant for dinner

with some Ian's hacker friends.

- Thank you.

How many?

- People at the dinner. How many?

- Um, about 10, I think. - Including me.

He didn't even put on a jacket.

- Hiert was there too? - Yeah.

- Is it near here?

- Yeah, it's across the street.

- Good. Let's cross the street.

- You know, I, I really don't like the way

you're treating me, Chuck.

It's like you won't even talk to me.

- This this the place? - Yes.

I didn't do anything wrong. Okay?

I, I didn't do anything wrong. You saw my notes.

Everything was in there.

I got tricked.

I got fooled. I'm sorry.

What are you being so mad for?

- It was 10 people? - Yes.

- For dinner? - Yes.

They're closed at three on Sundays.

- Yeah, I, I know. I know.

They almost didn't let us in. Okay?

But it was a couple of minutes before three

and Ian looked like he was about ready to cry.

And so they said "okay." - But for dinner?

- Eh, go in and ask him yourself, Chuck. Okay?

Go, go in and see if they would serve a party

that came in at 2:58, and the answer would be "yes,"

because that's when we got here.

- The "Forbes" guys are gonna have all this too.

And they're gonna dig through the records

at that office building, okay?

I'm sure they have surveillance cameras

and they're gonna check them. - I, I didn't do

anything wrong, Chuck. - I really wish

you'd stopped saying that!

Steve.

Come on. Anyone can make a mistake.

- You know, this is not right, Chuck. Okay?

I, I feel really attacked.

And you're my editor. You're supposed to support me.

And you're taking their word against mine?

You're supposed to support me!

Criticism of the president's program

has been... - Leave it off.

- I'm sorry I yelled at you back there.

Chuck?

Steve!

Pull the goddamn car over. - Yeah.

- All right.

- There's been so much pressure.

I, I, Chuck, I didn't, I didn't mean

to get anybody in trouble. - Okay.

Okay.

You weren't at the conference?

- No.

You know, I, I had a description

of it from so many sources.

I thought I had it solid. Okay?

And I wanted the piece to have an eyewitness feel

to it for color, so I said I'd been there myself.

- And everything we just told the "Forbes" guys?

- I, I'm so sorry, Chuck.

I just panicked.

If you want me to say that I made it up, I will.

If that'll help you, I'll say it.

- I just want you to tell me the truth, Steve.

Can you do that?

All I'm suggesting is that there might be facets

of this that you're not considering.

Why are you defending him?

- Nobody's defending him, Chuck.

- Of course you're defending him.

- He's a kid. - He doctored his notes, Lou.

Just consider that for a second.

You know, he, he sat down

and he hand wrote a bunch of phoney quotes,

and then he handed them in as source material

for the fact-check.

Doesn't that offend you? - Of course it does.

- Well, he also lied to his editor.

That's supposed to offend you too.

- He's a confused, distraught kid. Obviously, Chuck.

So suspend him for a couple of months,

but let's not bury him. - Suspend him.

- There are also political considerations

to take into account here.

The rest of the staff, the way they feel about him.

- I, I already know all that.

- What I'm saying is, if you fire him,

some of these people will leave.

I, I don't know if we'd still have a magazine

at the end of the day.

- Hey, Caitlin. - Not now, David.

- How's he doing? - Well, he's a wreck,

of course.

- I want him in here, Caitlin.

- He's too scared to come in here.

He thinks you wanna destroy him.

He knows what he did was horrible.

He knows how badly he messed up.

The part he's most upset about is lying to you, Chuck,

because he knows you took it as a sign of disrespect

instead of as a panic move, which is what it was.

Think about the workload he's been carrying.

All this and classes.

He hasn't slept more than two hours in nine months,

so he got a little sloppy and he lied to cover his tracks.

He's sick about it. - Caitlin,

the building he described, it doesn't even exist.

He just made it up.

So?

- Obviously he needs some help.

He needs help. - Just get him in here.

- You can't fire him.

I don't think he'll survive.

You don't understand, we're all he has.

You can't fire him, Chuck.

- Thanks, Lou.

You guys excuse us for minute.

Trying to sell all the men watered-down stock,

and you know, within...

Steve.

What are you doing here?

I'm so dead. I mean, I'm over.

Nobody's ever gonna hire me again, are they?

I was so sloppy trusting my sources like that

and then lying about it.

And to Chuck of all people.

I mean, the one guy who's hated me all along.

- I'm sure that none of this is personal.

- No? Chuck keeps a list in his head.

Everybody who's a Michael Kelly person.

A couple of times, I said some things

I shouldn't have said about you.

So now I'm on it. That's why he's so set on killing me now.

- Well, I have to tell you, Steve, he's within his rights.

The things you did were fireable offenses.

- I, I know. I, I'm, I'm not saying that they weren't.

Ah, I did some terrible, terrible things.

But believe me, Michael, Chuck doesn't care about any of it.

It's my loyalty to you that he's punishing me for.

I'm such an idiot. Huh.

Now who's gonna hire me?

- Steve, I have to ask you something, um...

Did you ever cook a piece when I was your boss?

Did you ever lie to me?

The young conservatives piece, the, the mini-bottles?

Was that true?

- Hello? - Chuck, it's David Bach.

Look, I'm really sorry to bother you at night,

but it seemed important.

It's fine. Is there a problem?

- Well, I don't know.

I, I just got off the phone with Stephen.

He sounds horrible. Did, did you suspend him, Chuck?

- David, what is the problem?

- He asked me if I would drive him out

to Dulles later tonight.

He said he wasn't sure he'd be safe driving by himself.

I just, I thought I should draw your attention to that.

- Did he say where he was going?

- Yeah, he said he'd be staying with his family for a while.

That can only be one of two places.

- Well, his parents live in Highland Park, right?

- Yeah. Or his brother out in Palo Alto.

- I'm sorry? - Yeah, his brother

at Stanford.

Chuck?

- You had your brother pose as George Sims.

- What?

- The phoney recording from Jukt Micronics.

It's a Palo Alto number.

And your brother's a student at Stanford.

You had him pose his Sims.

- No, Sims is a real guy. - Steve, Steve.

No, I've talked to him a million times, Chuck.

My brother and I aren't even speaking right now.

- Stop it. You faked Sims, you faked the website.

- You don't know. - You faked

all those voicemails. - You don't know, Chuck.

- Restil, Hiert, - You got this

totally backwards. - Hort, it's all crap.

I can trace it if you make me. I'll find it all billed here.

- I don't know what you're talking about. Okay?

Those are all real people.

- They are? - Yeah.

- Look at me

and say that again.

- Those are all real people.

Okay.

I want you outta here.

- What? - I want you outta here.

And you can't take anything with you.

- There's some files. Okay?

I have to put 'em on a disc. - No.

- No, they're mine. Personal stuff.

- I don't care.

I know you don't.

Can I at least shut down my computer?

- Don't touch it! - I'm in the middle

of file, Chuck, Goddammit.

- Move back away from the desk.

Leave it all I will call security.

- Jesus Christ. - Okay?

- Can I take my Rolodex?

- Steve.

Can I take my law books?

- Sure.

- Look, I'm gonna need to have your security key.

- I'm not a criminal, Chuck.

Okay?

I'm not a criminal.

- Oh, I heard you. Come on

- Chuck...

I said I was sorry.

- I know,

but you have to go.

Bond traders as a rule

do not have much time to loaf around.

And the Wall Street investment house, RVL,

takes its work ethic to a particularly...

One trader is now testing a handheld urinal,

normally used by cops on stakeout.

A few days after Mike Tyson was disqualified

for biting Evander Holyfield,

I offered half a dozen talk shows

my services as a biting expert.

I'm someone who knows a...

The mini-bars open and empty little bottles of booze

are scattered on the carpet.

It was the monthly gathering of the commission

to restore the presidency to greatness.

Patriotic prophets will have a hard time holding back

this merchandising bonanza, as Hazel was explaining...

Western Union now has a stop the casino hotline...

The scene under suspicion,

which forwards anti-casino

to the White House.

A figure called "Loving Lewinsky," that looks and works

like a child's doll.

- Thank, Joe. Sorry about the trouble.

No, problem, Steve.

- Chuck.

Um, the, ah, the thing with George Sims,

that was, the voice, the voice that you heard

on the telephone, that was my brother.

Ah, I'm sorry.

There really is a George Sims.

I, I, I, I've spoken to him a million times.

He just stopped talking to me,

you know, because of the article.

He was so mad about it.

Ah, I didn't know what to do.

And the guys from "Forbes" were putting

so much pressure on me, you know, and you were so mad.

I just thought that if I could get everybody off my back,

okay, for just a day, just a day would give me

enough time to go and find him.

You can understand that, can't you?

You're fired, Steve.

- What?

- You're fired. You've lost your job,

But you can't, ah...

Chuck,

will you please take me to the airport?

Jesus.

Please, okay?

You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to.

It's fine,

but I can't be by myself right now.

Okay? I'm, ah,

I'm afraid of what I'm gonna do.

Ah, you know, I, I can't get there by myself.

- I'm not going anywhere with you.

Now, if you feel like you're a danger to yourself,

you can sit down for a few minutes

until you feel calm enough to go.

But I am not going anywhere with you.

But, ah, I'm afraid that I'm,

I'm gonna do something, okay?

Did, did you hear what I said?

- Yeah.

It's a hell of a story.

- Chuck, please?

- Stop pitching, Steve.

It's over.

Okay.

- "Spring Breakdown." "The Jungle."

"A Fine Mess." "After the Fall."

"Peddling Poppy."

"Cheap Suits." "Kicked Out."

"No Free Launch." "Ratted Out."

"State of Nature." "Clutch Situation."

"All Wet." "Plotters."

"Praised Be Greenspan." "Monica Sells."

"Hack Heaven."

- What the hell did you do, Steve?

He just called me from his car, hysterical.

And I asked him what was wrong. He said, "Ask Chuck."

- I fired him! Okay?

Not suspended, fired.

So this wasn't an isolated incident, Caitlin.

He cooked a dozen of 'em, maybe more.

And we're gonna have to go through them, you and I,

we're gonna have to go through all of 'em now.

- No, the only one was "Hack Heaven."

He told me that himself.

- If he were a stranger to you,

if he was a guy you were doing a piece about,

pretend that guy told you he'd only done it once.

Would you take his word for it? Of course not.

You'd dig and you'd bury him!

And you'd be offended if anybody told you not to.

- Every one of those pieces was fact-checked.

They were all vetted. - So was "Hack Heaven!"

You're a good reporter.

You've always been such a smart, thorough reporter.

Why can't you be one now?

- 'Cause what you're telling me is impossible, Chuck.

- Go upstairs, read him again.

- This is bullshit!

- Make sure you go all the way back

because half of 'em ran when Mike was still here.

- That's what this is. Of course.

I mean, what are you gonna do, Chuck?

Pick us off one by one?

Everybody that was loyal to Mike?

Do you have a staff that belongs to you?

Is that the kind of magazine you wanna run?

- Caitlin, when this thing blows,

there isn't gonna be a magazine anymore.

Now, if you wanna make this about Mike, make it about Mike.

I don't give a shit, you can resent me, you can hate me,

but come Monday morning, we're all gonna have to answer

for what we let happen here!

We're all gonna have an apology to make.

Jesus Christ, don't you have any idea

how much shit we're about to eat?

Every competitor we ever took a shot at,

they're gonna pounce, and they should

because we blew it, Caitlin.

He handed us fiction after fiction

and we printed them all as fact,

just because we found him entertaining.

It's indefensible. Don't you know that?

Is everyone in the conference room?

- You know what could have prevented all this, don't you?

- No. What?

- Pictures.

How could you make up characters if everyone

you wrote about had to be photographed?

- You know, Stephen, if you wanted to,

you could do these kids a giant favour.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

You could write something boring one of these days.

Give them a a little less

to live up to.

- I suppose I could.

- I mean, we don't want a bunch of teenagers

getting ulcers, do we?

- Morning.

That's funny.

'Cause I thought I was gonna have to explain

all this to you.

- Well, what do I think of this guy?

- Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks.

- Steve?

Stephen?

We've read through all the pieces now, the entire staff,

and we've come up with a list of those whose facts

and sources we couldn't verify independently.

I know you can't admit guilt of any kind,

but I want you to confirm a few titles for me.

- We're not prepared to confirm or deny

anything at this time. - What I'm gonna do is this.

I'm going to read to you a list

of suspicious titles one by one.

If you raise an objection to a particular title,

we'll fact-check it again in the hope

of removing it from the list.

If you remain silent, we'll assume

that piece is fabricated, either partially

or entirely, and it'll stay on.

Is that clear to everyone?

Okay.

"Hazardous to Your Mental Health."

That means it stays on the list of suspicious pieces,

fabricated pieces.

- We understand. Can we move along?

"Holy Trinity."

"Probable Clause."

"Don't You Dare."

"Spring Breakdown."

"State of Nature."

"Rock the Morons."

"After the Fall."

You have to know who you're writing for

and you have to know what you're good at.

I record what people do.

I find out what moves them, what scares them,

and I write that down.

That way they're the ones telling the story.

And you know what?

Those kind of pieces can win Pulitzers too.

Steve?