In this movie written by Samuel Fuller, New York newspaper publisher Minor Watson realizes his isolationist editorial policy is wrong. He is about to change everything about the way he runs his paper..... and is killed, quite obviously by people working for the new publisher, Otto Kruger. But his secretary, Gloria Dickson, shows up in the office of Guy Kibbee, editor, publisher, and everything but press operator of a tiny rural paper, with instructions to take over the big paper and make things right. Kibbee has a lot of opposition, especially from managing editor Lee Tracy, whose attitude is to accuse today and retract tomorrow if necessary; just get the big, circulation-boosting headlines! Kibbee's idea of getting as many facts as possible, especially about Larry Parks, accused of murdering Watson, seems old-fashioned and weak.
Given the news of the past few years, my ear pricked up when Kibbee referred to "fake news". He -- or Fuller -- didn't mean it in the sense of some alternate offering of facts. Fuller was a newspaperman himself, straight out of Park Row and a fan of full-blooded and outright bloody journalism. But he believed in getting his facts straight, and knew that the strength of this country lies not in slogans or strong men, or money, but in ordinary people who when told the truth understand it, and do the right thing.