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Spotlight · 2015 — Chapter 2 of 21 · 2'44" · B2

Marty Baron's First News Meeting, Explained: file a motion

Marty Baron's first news meeting turns into a debate about the Geoghan case: a lawyer claims documents prove the cardinal knew, but the church says he is "a bit of a crank." Someone warns the documents are "under seal." Baron's reply is to go to court and file a motion to lift it.

What happens

At the morning meeting, the new editor, Marty Baron, asks everyone to introduce themselves, then raises the Geoghan case. A lawyer says he has documents proving the cardinal knew, but others call him a crank and note the files are under seal. Baron decides the paper should try to unseal them.

MeetingsInvestigationExplainingConfrontingCoworkersB2fastamerican
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Listen for

file a motionHe said, she saidworth a nickelone word for it

00:00 / 02:44
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  34. ❝ MonologueBaron nails the story to the table6 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

file a motion

to formally ask a court to do something

第一天开会，贝隆提出可以向法院申请解封那些文件，用 file a motion 把这一步说得很专业。

The defense filed a motion to dismiss the case last week.

Also in this scene

  • He said, she said

    conflicting accounts with no way to verify

  • worth a nickel

    completely worthless or useless

  • one word for it

    a dry way of acknowledging someone's description

  • under seal

    officially closed to the public by a court

Everything marked in this scene

31 notes across 52 lines

Phrase · B1go aroundUm, if you could tell me your name as we go around, that'd be helpful.
Phrase · A2that would be helpfulUm, if you could tell me your name as we go around, that'd be helpful.
Grammar · B1if you could tell me your name

if you could for polite requests

Um, if you could tell me your name as we go around, that'd be helpful.
Phrase · B1a crappy gameCrappy game last night, huh?
Soundlast night

elision

Crappy game last night, huh?
Slang · B1CrappyCrappy game last night, huh?
Phrase · C1can't do something worth a nickelYeah, they can't hit worth a nickel.
Soundworth a nickel

liaison

Yeah, they can't hit worth a nickel.
Phrase · A2just curiousDo you need something, Mike? No, just curious.
Phrase · B2go be something somewhere elseGo be curious somewhere else. I got work to do, huh?
Phrase · A2have work to doGo be curious somewhere else. I got work to do, huh?
Phrase · B1someone didn't seem so sureJimmy says he'll be back this year, but the doc didn't seem so sure.
Phrase · B2what's the follow-up on somethingYeah, what's the folo on that?
Slang · B2foloYeah, what's the folo on that?
Phrase · B2a bit of a somethingYeah, I think that attorney's a bit of a crank, and the church dismissed the claim.
Slang · B2crankYeah, I think that attorney's a bit of a crank, and the church dismissed the claim.
Grammar · B2Whether Mr. Garabedian is a crank or not

whether for concession

Whether Mr. Garabedian is a crank or not he says he has documents that prove the cardinal knew.
Phrase · B2be under seal

officially closed to the public by a court

As I understand it, those documents are under seal.
Phrase · B1as I understand itAs I understand it, those documents are under seal.
Soundunder seal

liaison

As I understand it, those documents are under seal.
Phrase · B2strike someone as somethingThis strikes me as an essential story to a local paper.
Grammar · B2strikes me as an essential story

strike someone as

This strikes me as an essential story to a local paper.
Phrase · B1at the very leastI think at the very least, we have to go through those documents.
Grammar · B2what the laws are here

reported question word order

I don't know what the laws are here, but in Florida we would go to court.
Phrase · C1file a motion to do somethingWe'd file a motion to lift the seal on those documents.
Grammar · B2We'd file a motion

We'd for a hypothetical step

We'd file a motion to lift the seal on those documents.
Phrase · B2read something as somethingThe church will read that as us suing them.
Phrase · A2good to knowGood to know.
Phrase · B2a gutsy callGutsy call for the first day.
Phrase · B2one word for it

a dry way of acknowledging someone's description

That's one word for it.
Slang · C1shit a brickI think Gilman's gonna shit a brick.

Marty Baron's First News Meeting, explained

What's really going on

The meeting is really about a new boss testing the room. Baron spends his first minutes asking names, then puts the Geoghan case on the table and lets the pushback come: the attorney is "a bit of a crank," the documents are "under seal," and the whole thing is dismissed as "He said, she said." He does not argue. He simply states, "This strikes me as an essential story to a local paper," and then asks the question that commits the paper: how would they get the files? What makes the scene land is that nobody in the room disagrees on the facts, only on the risk - and Baron moves anyway, turning a stalled story into a legal action with one calm sentence.

Theme

JusticeA new editor pushes a stalled abuse case toward the courts, treating the sealed records as worth fighting for.
CorruptionThe church's dismissal of the abuse claim, and the sealed records, point to an institutional cover-up.

Listen for

  • last night — elision
  • worth a nickel — liaison
  • under seal — liaison
This strikes me as an essential story to a local paper.

Baron's quiet claim that the case belongs in the paper, framing it as duty rather than scandal.

I don't know what the laws are here, but in Florida we would go to court.

His outsider's answer to how to open the files: take the fight to court.

I think at the very least, we have to go through those documents.

The minimum step he insists on, turning talk into a concrete plan.

I think Gilman's gonna shit a brick.

The newsroom's blunt guess at how the paper's leadership will react to the decision.

Questions about this scene

Why does the newsroom doubt the attorney?

Someone calls him a crank and says the church dismissed the claim, so the story looks like a matter of he said, she said with the files under seal.

What does Baron want the paper to do?

He thinks the case is an essential story and wants the team to at least go through the sealed documents, which means going to court to lift the seal.

Why would filing a motion upset the church?

As someone notes, the church - and everyone else - will read the move as the paper suing the church, even though it is only a request to unseal records.

What is at stake in the Geoghan case?

Allegations that a priest molested children, with documents a lawyer says prove the cardinal knew and the church kept sealed.

Spotlight · 21 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3have something on someoneLawyers Break Down the Geoghan Case
Chapter 1take a hard look atBaron Meets Robinson for a DrinkWatching · Chapter 2file a motionMarty Baron's First News MeetingChapter 3have something on someoneLawyers Break Down the Geoghan CaseChapter 4think in centuriesRezendes Meets GarabedianChapter 5stand aloneMarty Baron Meets Cardinal LawChapter 6preyed uponPhil Saviano Tells His StoryChapter 7the beginning of it allReporters Interview Abuse SurvivorsChapter 8out of circulationPressuring Macleish on SettlementsChapter 9it takes a villageRezendes Meets the InformantChapter 10Good GermansSipe's Six Percent EstimateChapter 11off the estimateThe Team Counts 87 PriestsChapter 12cottage industryRobby Confronts MacleishChapter 13from the top downThe Team Goes After the SystemChapter 14sledding uphillSpringfield Hearing on Sealed RecordsChapter 15off the recordGarabedian Reveals the Sealed DocumentsChapter 16get on the same pageReporters Confront Boston CollegeChapter 17broke ranksRobby Refuses to Rush the StoryChapter 18a few bad applesPete Pressures Robby Over DrinksChapter 19on a clockRobby Gets Six Weeks to PublishChapter 20lay something on someoneRobby Confronts His Old FriendChapter 21stumbling around in the darkThe Newsroom Finalizes the Story
Chapter 2 of 21 · about 54 min to go