Mason Adams

Investigating allegations that a motorcycle being marketed to young people is unsafe, Rossi is offered proof by a whistle blower at the company, but Mrs. Pynchon refuses on principle to pay the $4000 he wants for the documents.

Doing a story on the cancer-causing effects among young women of the artificial hormone DES, which was given to their mothers during pregnancy, Billie discovers that she too is a "DES daughter." Meanwhile, Rossi covers the legal struggle of a young woman of Armenian descent who has been ostracized and disowned by her family because she married a Turk.

Billie researches an article about the suicide of two teenagers and the effects on their families, while Rossi does a story about the personal and professional pressures on child star Carly Mitchell. Meanwhile, Lou tries to help a troubled youngster who is being neglected by his mother.

When Lou sends both Billie and Rossi to cover the kidnapping of a small town's high school basketball teams, they clash about who will beat the other to the scoop. Meanwhile, Mrs. Pynchon mulls over an offer to sell the Tribune to a large newspaper chain.

After a thug confesses to Billie about being hired to intimidate a lawyer in a grand jury investigation, the thug is murdered and Billie herself is threatened. She gets police protection until she can testify, but has a hard time getting along with the officer assigned to guard her.

A proposed ballot initiative raises the issue of illegal gambling. Lou is forced to fire the paper's business reporter when he violates conflict-of-interest rules in an attempt to pay off his gambling debts. Mrs. Pynchon considers dropping sports lines and other features in the paper that provide information used in illegal betting.

Rossi and Billie research a story about the development of new medicines at the Los Angeles University Medical Center, which provides critical funding for its continuation. However, the pressure has caused a young researcher to falsify his results for a new arthritis medicine.

Billie and the Tribune receive a lot of criticism after her article describing a company as a big polluter causes it to cancel a planned move to Los Angeles. Then the company reverses its decision, and Billie learns that it was all just a ploy so that the company could negotiate for more incentives and tax breaks from the state government.

Lou and Rossi work with prison inmates who are creating their own newspaper, but find that over-enthusiasm can lead to a dangerous situation. Meanwhile Charlie has to take on Mrs. Pynchon's tasks when she is called for jury duty.

A tabloid journalist interviews the city room staff for a feature on the Tribune. The resulting article paints a pretty negative picture, undermining the Tribune�s trustworthiness just when it has a scoop about a politician�s personal problems.