Newsroom Recap: They Know About Generators, Right?

They get into more deus ex machina exposition where Hancock makes a Batman reference and Charlie’s too smug to know (Is there nothing Sorkin does that he’s not also superior to?) but long story short (since the main point of the Patriot Act was to legalize illegal warrantless wiretaps), AWM pulled a Murdoch and has been spying on people at Reese Lansing’s direction because they need to get that whole ill-conceived “Leona wants to fire Will” storyline out of the way before next season. Then Hancock gives Charlie transcripts from his Congressional testimony to vet him and his claims. If ACN reports this story Hancock will help protect them from Leona Lansing.

Don’s in the meeting room explaining what any good producer should know about how to keep an audience hooked and watching your news show, or in this case how Nancy Grace, spawn of hell, dug her talons into her audience. I mean, it’s not pretty, but shouldn’t any producer worth his or her weight know the tricks of the trade? Even someone as “good and pure” as Mackenzie?

Speaking of, she gets up on her soapbox, again, suggesting they cover it “their way” by preaching about how our justice system is built upon making sure no innocent person goes to jail (HAHAHAHAHA) and Don openly mocks her, except he says you can’t imply the audience doesn’t know everything or that she might be innocent. Mackenzie still thinks it’s a bad idea but Will thinks they should cover the story in a way that would bring their audience back. I’m sure that would require a less self-aggrandizing and tedious host.

Exactly where did you learn to produce the news?

Mackenzie has one final wobble then asks how they get the best guests. Don mentions a man named Dylan Kagan, who’s the agent to the tabloid stars. Mackenzie can’t believe they have agents because Mackenzie’s never really lived in this world because she has Avian Bone Syndrome.

She asks Jim about where they are with the Weiner story but all they have is what everyone else has. Blurry photos and no answers. With Brian still sitting in the room, because everything’s “off the record,” she pitches one last fit about how they’re just going to pretend it’s the news then Will loses his own shit about how getting a debate in the middle of summer a year before the election to ask unprofessional questions that all the candidates will sidestep to keep repeating Guns, Obamacare and Illegals trumps her ethical quandaries and that they need to get their acts together. Don agrees with Will so Mackenzie slinks out.

And into Will’s office where he’s still opening up AWM to liability suits by smoking in a climate controlled office. Brian tries to sneak in but Charlie wants it to remain private. Because he wants to tell them about his meeting with Hancock and how he dropped their latest scoop in their lap, completely fabricating our own tabloid hacking scandal. Charlie wants Mackenzie to put someone on vetting the testimony (Now they vet?) and she suggests Jim. Out of nowhere Will wonders if he’s “up to it,” and Mack gets butthurt, telling Will he is because she taught him how to do the news. She taught “all of them” how to do the news. Ah, now I see why she and Will were so perfect for each other.

Oh my god…they’re right. Will really is an asshole.