A student journalist despairs of the state of the profession in the disinformation age and goes in search of answers. But what she finds threatens to wreak permanent havoc on her family, unless she drops the story.

SYNOPSIS:

Jo Patnode, 19, world-weary daughter of rural poverty, heads to community college class, barely missing a beat when her car sputters out. Somewhat playfully but with an edge, she spars with family and friends about the right-wing media machine. She discovers a technicality about journalism standards that captures her imagination, reinforced by her professor.

To the dismay of her partner Nic, their old friend (and Jo’s former romantic interest) Shon invites Jo to visit NYC, sealing the deal with the news that her indie cleaning crew has a gig in the same building as Looks News HQ. With somewhat horrified curiosity and an idealistic itch, Jo boards a bus to New York. An ill team member creates an opening and suddenly Jo is in close proximity to her arch enemy, soon finding her way into their offices.

She overhears the CEO’s nephew Blake bragging about Looks being in the influence business. She takes this ‘hot tip’, to the City Times, her long-revered source, and is mostly rebuffed. She surreptitiously snoops around the Looks offices. On a tip, Jo travels to CEO Ray Murphy’s Southampton estate, where she breaks into a locked space revealing a hidden operation devoted to funding and planning Looks’ manipulation of the news on all sorts of hot-button issues.

Now she’s on fire. The Times now begins an investigation, with Jo assisting. Suspicious, Shon cuts her from the crew. Locked out, Jo ‘borrows’ Shon’s badge to get back into the building for research and drops it as she is chased out by Blake, who pursues and threatens Shon. Jo rescues Shon with her darts but Shon furiously throws Jo out on the street. Jo’s Dad tells her she can’t come home until she listens to him, she is not welcome there.

Blake gets a bead on Jo and Looks begins a smear campaign on her dad. Her parents flee to a cabin in the woods.

Along her journey, Jo has begun to realize that the media she had placed on a pedestal has failed to connect with her people. She calls out The Times for remaining comfortable in their own echo chamber, and accuses them of delivering Ray’s audience to him through their own arrogance.

Through Shon’s teachings, Jo decides to control her response to the situation. She quits the investigation in hopes Looks will cease harassing Mat. The Times is hot on the story, envisioning major awards, and suggests she could be arrested for the break-in and have no legal team.

As Jo boards a bus out of town, Nic shows up to check on their frayed relationship. But Shon texts her with an SOS because Blake has captured her; Jo and Shon scramble back to help. Ray, exasperated, lectures Blake about the underhanded reasons for the station’s success. Jo finds Dem at the controls and with some quick texting, persuades Dem that the world needs to hear what Ray is saying. Dem obligingly flips a switch and Ray’s bragging rants goes live to broadcast for all the world to hear.