One of the reasons British shows and movies about journalists are so great is that the English accept a raffishness in reporters and editors that we Americans normally only deem acceptable in cops. Which is the main reason I'm so excited to hear that Dominic West is playing a journalist in a high-end British television series. Take Dan Foster from State of Play:
Add some muscle mass, and subtract a successful if inexplicable marriage, and you'll have a journalistic Jimmy McNulty: swaggering, ethics-bending, and extremely effective. And compulsively watchable. I just hope the stories in the series are good. The work should matter as much as the interpersonal relationships, or rather, the interpersonal relationships should be defined by the work.