Shattered Glass Page #2

it appeared on the cover

of The New Republic.

Our weekly circulation

of .

- . .

- You almost done with it, Rob?

- Two days. Tops.

- Yes, two days from Chanukah.

Hey, it's basically finished...

for the most part.

Next up. Amy?

Just finished the piece

on ethanol subsidies.

There are 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'm sorry.

They don't want to hear

the whole "journalistic

responsibility" speech... do you?

You just want to 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

what some of the hurdles are.

We'll use one I wrote last year,

about a bunch of Young Republicans

at a Conservatives' 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 phony identity.

I don't know, man. It seemed like

a pretty good turnout to me.

No, man.

Conservatism is 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.

We're like this guy

who has to pee,

lost in the desert,

looking for a tree.

That's true.

Completely true.

You guys know what

you're shopping for, right?

Yeah, totally.

Get us a real "heifer."

The fatter the better.

Bad acne would be a bonus.

Let's do it!

- Hey, Steve.

- Hey, Chuck.

What are you working on?

A piece Gabriel García Marquez

wrote about the Falklands War.

How about you?

Young Republicans

at a 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

was on the fifth floor getting loaded.

Drugs, binge drinking,

hookers...

it 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.

Sorry, Mrs. Duke.

I know how you feel about clarity.

We've got to start calling

some other places.

I don't think I can

eat this stuff every day.

It was the Cannon Building.

You had it as "Russell."

I fixed it.

- Thank you.

- I really liked it, Ames.

But boring, right?

No. No. I really,

really liked it.

- Ahem...

- Yes, dear?

Somebody for you on three...

someone from Harper's.

When did you start

talking to Harper's?

I'm not. It's probably nothing.

Could you send it to my voicemail?

- Very good.

- By the way, Glo',

that lipstick is the bomb.

- Thanks, doll.

- Was it "Midnight Mist"?

- I've really got to stop doing that.

- What?

All I do is give people

more reasons to assume I'm gay.

I mean, lately,

it's everyone.

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 afterwards,

talking about Medicare for God's sakes,

the next thing I know is we're standing

on the corner of th and "T"...

and 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.

- Neither did I.

- Hey!

- Michael.

- Do you have a minute?

- Of course.

We have a problem

with the "Spring Breakdown" piece.

Just got a letter from David Keene.

He ran the CPAC Conference.

- He's made...

- Are you mad at me?

He's made some pretty serious

charges. We need to answer them.

Okay.

My notes are at home.

I can be back in minutes.

Is that too long?

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