Robby, Macleish's assistant said he's all booked up, he can't see us.Spotlight · 2015 — Chapter 12 of 21 · 1'39" · C1
Robby Confronts Macleish, Explained: cottage industry
Robby corners the lawyer Eric Macleish in a parking lot and refuses to take no for an answer: "the hell he can't." He lays out the choice - a story about "degenerate clergy" or one about lawyers turning abuse into a "cottage industry" - and asks which the paper should write.
What happens
In a parking lot, the reporters catch up with the lawyer Eric Macleish, who says he is too busy to talk. Robby refuses to accept it and tells him that if he does not hand over the names of priests and victims, the paper will run one of two stories: corrupt clergy, or lawyers profiting from abuse.
Listen for
cottage industrygo after someonehave reason to believethe hell he can't
00:00 / 01:39Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
cottage industry
a small home-based business; here used to mock how abuse cases became a profit line
罗比在停车场堵住麦克利什，把两篇稿子摆在对方面前，其中一篇就是讽刺律师们把虐童案做成一门生意。
Litigation has quietly turned into a cottage industry around this town.
Also in this scene
- go after someone
to pursue or hold someone accountable; to chase a goal
- have reason to believe
to have grounds to think that something is true
- the hell he can't
an emphatic, informal way to contradict a refusal
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 31 lines
an emphatic, informal way to contradict a refusal
Told Macleish is fully booked, Robby snaps back that the excuse will not stand.
Yeah. Well, the hell he can't.You know what, I'll catch up with you, okay?liaison
You know what, I'll catch up with you, okay?to have grounds to think that something is true
Mr. Macleish, we have reason to believeDoes that number sound right to you? You gotta be kidding me.elision
Does that number sound right to you? You gotta be kidding me.I just told you I don't have time for this crap right now.Eric. How many priests did you settle?past simple question with did
Eric. How many priests did you settle?liaison
Eric. How many priests did you settle?Robby, you know I can't tell you that.can't for inability
Robby, you know I can't tell you that.We've got a story about degenerate clergy,a small home-based business; here used to mock how abuse cases became a profit line
and we've got a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a cottage industry.reason clause with 'cause
'Cause we're writing one of them.What're you talking about? To whom?to pursue or hold someone accountable; to chase a goal
but I couldn't go after them without the press.without as a condition
but I couldn't go after them without the press.Check your goddamn clips, Robby.Yeah. Big surprise.Robby Confronts Macleish, explained
What's really going on
The parking lot is the point: no office, no appointment, no escape. Robby's opening line, "the hell he can't," sets the tone - this is not an interview but a shakedown with a deadline. What makes it work is that the threat is framed as a choice, not a threat: "which story do you want us to write?" The two options are both damaging, one aimed at the Church and one at Macleish's own profession, so silence is not a safe answer. Macleish's counter is the real wound: he claims he already sent a list of names years ago and the paper buried it, which turns the confrontation into an indictment of the Globe itself.
Theme
CorruptionThe scene shows how abuse became business, with lawyers and the Church each protecting their own interests.
PowerRobby uses the paper's leverage as a threat, trading one damaging story for the names he needs.
Listen for
- catch up with you — liaison
- gotta be kidding me — elision
- did you — liaison
Now, which story do you want us to write?The ultimatum in question form: cooperate, or the paper prints the version that hurts you.
'Cause we're writing one of them.The line that closes the choice: there is no option in which nothing gets published.
So I sent you guys a list of names, and you buried it.Macleish's counterattack, accusing the Globe of having ignored his list years earlier.
I want those names tomorrow.Robby's deadline, turning the confrontation into a demand with a clock on it.
Questions about this scene
Why do the reporters confront Macleish in a parking lot?
He is too busy to meet them anywhere else, so they catch him on his way, refusing to accept his brush-off.
What are the two stories Robby offers?
One is about degenerate clergy, the other about lawyers who turned child abuse into a lucrative cottage industry - both damaging, whichever gets printed.
What does Macleish accuse the Globe of?
He says he sent a list of names to the paper years ago and it buried the story, which is why he could not pursue the cases without the press.
Is Robby threatening Macleish?
It is a pressure tactic framed as a choice: give up the names of priests and victims, or the paper runs one of two damaging stories.
Spotlight · 21 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13from the top downThe Team Goes After the System
Chapter 1take a hard look atBaron Meets Robinson for a Drink
Chapter 2file a motionMarty Baron's First News Meeting
Chapter 3have something on someoneLawyers Break Down the Geoghan Case
Chapter 4think in centuriesRezendes Meets Garabedian
Chapter 5stand aloneMarty Baron Meets Cardinal Law
Chapter 6preyed uponPhil Saviano Tells His Story
Chapter 7the beginning of it allReporters Interview Abuse Survivors
Chapter 8out of circulationPressuring Macleish on Settlements
Chapter 9it takes a villageRezendes Meets the Informant
Chapter 10Good GermansSipe's Six Percent Estimate
Chapter 11off the estimateThe Team Counts 87 Priests
Watching · Chapter 12cottage industryRobby Confronts Macleish
Chapter 13from the top downThe Team Goes After the System
Chapter 14sledding uphillSpringfield Hearing on Sealed Records
Chapter 15off the recordGarabedian Reveals the Sealed Documents
Chapter 16get on the same pageReporters Confront Boston College
Chapter 17broke ranksRobby Refuses to Rush the Story
Chapter 18a few bad applesPete Pressures Robby Over Drinks
Chapter 19on a clockRobby Gets Six Weeks to Publish
Chapter 20lay something on someoneRobby Confronts His Old Friend
Chapter 21stumbling around in the darkThe Newsroom Finalizes the StoryChapter 12 of 21 · about 25 min to go