Oliver Platt plays Wallace Benton, a journalist for a New York tabloid magazine, "The NY Ledger," working alongside his soon-to-be ex-wife and various other people, using his journalistic instincts to get the story no matter what it takes. He drinks heavily and curses, so he's clearly an average guy, with no superhuman qualities about him. On the side, he teaches a class full of journalism students, who sometimes go along on his researching "missions," and he frequently uses them to get information on stories he has done, or is doing, to save himself some time. Benton is a smooth talker with many tricks up his sleeve, always searching for more information to add just the right touch to his articles, and he sometimes finds himself using somewhat devious tactics to get that information.