Electric Ink


By Alistair Beaton, Tom Mitchelson.  Electric Ink follows a group of dysfunctional journalists as they attempt to cover major news stories while grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment; watching circulation figures plummet; and seeing half the workforce laid-off in the recession. At the heart of the comedy is the relationship between Maddox Bradley, a journalist who mourns the days of proper investigative journalism, and Freddy, the online editor, who will regurgitate a press release quite happily and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for each other, as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting - and Maddox shows Freddy how to sniff out the real story. Both are at the mercy of Oliver, the pragmatic editor more concerned with keeping his job, and Carol, the news editor. Only Masha, the Russian head of online communities, knows Freddy's secret - he is a posh boy from Eton rather than a über-cool kid from the street. Well, that's what Freddy thinks, anyway...

Series 1

1. Old hacks meet new media in the newspaper industry. Maddox is told he must present The Politics Minute, an online 'vodcast' for the paper.
2. In order to increase sales of the newspaper, the marketing department decide to give away a free wall chart - with disastrous results.
3. Using Twitter as a source, Freddy inadvertently breaks a top story about the Treasury.
4. The paper hires a reality star as a columnist and Maddox must find a way of rewriting her copy without upsetting her.
5. While Freddy introduces buzzwords to the paper, Maddox uncovers a top story about the PM. But will it be suppressed?
6.With newspaper circulation dropping, a round of job cuts are predicted. But who will survive the bloodbath?

Series 2
1. Maddox has lost the job of news editor and now faces being sued.
2. Maddox refuses to give up a source. Could he really face prison?
3. Maddox takes a moral stance with disastrous results.
4. The paper gets a hot tip about a Lib-Dem MP. Could they be about to unseat the coalition?
5. Freddy punctures Maddox's literary pretensions and uncovers a scandal.
6. The paper is on the verge of being sold to a Russian gangster.