Freak the News: Journalistic High Jinks in a Small Maine Town

Chris' is a 50-something seasoned journalist who enjoys a good drink. After years away from the field, he returns to his first love, the copy desk, at a small newspaper in Maine. Shawn, a talented writer fresh out of journalism school, winds up at the same paper. He wants to hang around long enough to make a name for himself, get some clips and move on to a big-city paper. When a surgical deaths story at the local hospital is killed by newspaper executives, Chris and Shawn become suspicious and discover a scheme that involves the blackmail of an alcoholic physician into naming a cardiac care center after the paper. Against the backdrop of a frantic, fractious and bawdy newsroom, Chris and Shawn, each at times fearful and uncertain about their commitment to the cause, find themselves driven on to a climax that exposes the bad guys and gives the paper's readers a front page they'll never forget. It is a profession proudly steeped in the virtues of truth and integrity. But what most don't realize is that those virtuous journalistic endeavors are often no more than a means to an end. The only reason to "get it right" on most stories is so they can successfully manipulate readers on a precious few.