'Press' Episode 2 Recap: "Pure"

Press' opening episode last week introduced a tale of two papers, The Herald and The Post. The Herald, as run by Amina Chaudury, is an attempted bastion of decency, trying to do the right thing. But it struggles in the face of it not selling papers. The Post, as run by Duncan Allen, is everything the Herald is not, trashy and nasty. Though, to be clear, its owner, George Emmerson, does wish it would run some real news.

This week's episode opens with the differences between the two papers highlighted in sharp relief. When Holly Evans arrives at work, it's in the middle of goodbye to yet another buyout. The retiree's been there 20 years and has the look of a woman walking towards the gallows as she leaves with her box of stuff, clearly not by choice. The editorial meeting that follows shows Evans fighting to get real news on the front page about disabled people protesting Parliament's stripping their protections. Chaudury knows it won't sell. She knows what will — a picture of a polar bear, or better yet, young celebrities. So Evans gets a young celebrity to comment on the disabilities story and gets herself a front-page berth.

Meanwhile, at The Post, the disabilities story never even comes up. It's all down in the dirt, exposing the head of the steelworker's union who's threatening strike action. (Because god forbid anyone doing something for the working man goes unpunished.) Allen, too, is also about the young celebrities, or, once again, the polar bear. Unlike Chaudury, who dismissed the animal, Allen is all in on the bear, deciding to turn it into a campaign to get it a home in the zoo, giving it a name, etc. And then, in a stroke of extra cruelty, forcing newbie cub reporter Ed to humiliate himself by dressing up as a sad polar bear, crash a party with young celebrities, and get himself a "Bear + Celeb" photo, for double the sales. It's bizarre genius, in its way. But it also explains why Ed, who reveals he's an Oxford grad, is lying to his mother about his new career.