It’s a “Late Breaking News Beat” when young, idealistic Paul Criver goes from the small town to the big city and joins veteran news anchor Vanity Harper as the 6 PM news co-anchor at KNUZ TV. Vanity Harper has been anchoring the newscast alone for the past 15 years and she’s not too happy about a guy half her age joining her at the news anchor desk. The news director of KNUZ, Randy Wilkins, hopes the pairing of Vanity and Paul will take the station to number one in the TV ratings.
It doesn’t take Paul long to realize there isn’t much positive news broadcast in the big city.
A month after Paul starts, the station reaches number one and Randy tells Paul how happy he is Paul joined the team. Vanity feels jilted by the news director who has no time for her as he pours complements onto Paul.
Paul gets up his nerve to tell Randy he’d like to start doing some positive stories as part of the newscasts. According to Randy, that’s not what people want to see. Positive news simply can’t be the “Lead Story.”
Kelly Warner, who started out as an intern the day Paul started and now is a production assistant at the station, approaches Paul for advice on getting on TV. Kelly dreams of being a successful reporter one day and having her “Face On A Bus.”
Mitch and Mindy, Vanity’s hair and make-up assistants, read on a blog that Paul is getting more attention than their boss. When Vanity hears this, she is fit to be tied. Just then Kelly stops by Vanity’s office to drop off some papers and is star struck when she meets her idol. Vanity is happy to share with Kelly the true wonder of “Vanity Harper.”
In the news room, Randy asks Paul to write the script for a breaking news cut in, but Paul argues that it isn’t ethical to report on an anonymous blog post about a mugging in the city. Paul and Randy debate the importance of “Timely vs. Accurate” story telling when it comes to the news.
Randy tells Paul to do the story but Paul isn’t sure how to write a news story that doesn’t have any validated information. The people in the news room teach Paul the “Reporter Rumba” in order to get the story on the air.
Sonny Day, KNUZ’s weather man and Paul’s godfather, sees that Paul’s feeling down about how things are going at the station. Sonny knows Paul has what it takes to get things done and he tells Paul anything is possible and “I Believe In You.”
Upon running into Mitch and Mindy in the hallway, Kelly summons up the nerve to tell them she’d like to be a news reporter one day. Mitch and Mindy inform Kelly that’s not possible because she doesn’t have “The Look.”
Paul finds Kelly upset about what Mitch and Mindy said to her. Paul tells Kelly that they should team up. They are both excited when they think “There’s a Chance” they may both get what they want. Vanity is listening in and is prepared to make sure neither of them achieves their goals.
In the news room, Vanity tells Kelly she sees a lot of potential for Kelly to be a successful TV reporter. Vanity takes Kelly on a news reporting assignment to cover the city muggings story. Recalling the conversation with Paul that she overheard, Vanity lets Kelly do the interview and then gladly produces the segment with lots of “Blood and Guts” shots.
Kelly is excited for the opportunity to finally be on camera, but she’s not sure what to do. It’s time for Kelly to do the “Reporter Rumba – Reprise.”
After the report airs, Randy tells Kelly he thinks the story is “Sensational.” However, Paul thinks the story telling is sensationalized. Kelly’s happy with the story, but realizing that she is developing feelings for Paul, is concerned about their possible future together.
Kelly confronts Paul about the news story and demands to know why Paul is determined to change the way the news is being reported. Paul tells Kelly it’s because of “My Dad.”
Vanity over hears Paul’s story and in a moment of clarity, realizes she was the reporter who gave out his Dad’s name on the air. She begins to question her motives and realizes “It’s Just News.”
Randy asks Kelly to do a follow up to the mugging story, but instead she and Paul do a story on some college kids fixing up a homeless shelter. They think it’s time to make the world “A Better Place.”
That night, when Randy confronts Kelly and Paul about not doing the mugging story, they calm him down with a report on the success of the homeless shelter piece and the great response from the viewers. Meanwhile, Vanity and Mitch inform the rest of the staff that Mindy was the victim of the city mugger because Kelly and Paul didn’t do the report they were assigned. Their decision to not cover the mugging story may have caused a co-worker her life.
Paul is upset about the outcome of doing the homeless shelter piece instead of the mugging story. Randy tells Paul there’s a time and place for positive news and a time and place for hard news. You have to have “A Good Balance.”
Despite some bruises, Mindy is okay. Reflecting on the last few days and the challenges and triumphs, the news room decides whether positive for negative any story can be the “Lead Story – Reprise.”