Henry Hackett (played by Michael Keaton) is a protagonist in The Paper.
Henry Hackett is the metro editor of The New York Sun, devoted to journalism despite long hours, low pay, and family pressures. He investigates the wrongful arrest of two teenagers, risks a prestigious job interview to pursue the story, clashes with Alicia over the presses, and is fired before the exclusive is finally published. Bernie White (played by Robert Duvall) is a protagonist in The Paper.
Bernie White is the editor-in-chief of The New York Sun and Henry's professional model and warning. Having put work before family, he reveals that he has prostate cancer and tries to locate his estranged daughter so he can reconcile with her before his illness leaves him no more time. Alicia Clark (played by Glenn Close) appears in The Paper.
Alicia Clark is the managing editor of The New York Sun and Henry's nemesis in the newsroom. She enforces financial cutbacks, rejects Henry's request to extend the deadline, and initially refuses to stop the presses. After learning the paper would knowingly publish a false story, she risks her life to change the front page. Michael McDougal (played by Randy Quaid) appears in The Paper.
Michael McDougal is a columnist at The New York Sun and Henry's newsroom ally. He shares Henry's doubts about the teenagers' arrest after hearing police criticism on the scanner, helps obtain confirmation that they are innocent, and persuades Alicia that publishing a false story would violate the paper's standards.
The Paper (1994) character relationship network mapped with AI analysis. Explore the connections, alliances, and conflicts between characters.
Characters
Henry Hackett
(played by Michael Keaton) — protagonist
Henry Hackett is the metro editor of The New York Sun, devoted to journalism despite long hours, low pay, and family pressures. He investigates the wrongful arrest of two teenagers, risks a prestigiou...
Bernie White
(played by Robert Duvall) — protagonist
Bernie White is the editor-in-chief of The New York Sun and Henry's professional model and warning. Having put work before family, he reveals that he has prostate cancer and tries to locate his estran...
Alicia Clark
(played by Glenn Close) — supporting
Alicia Clark is the managing editor of The New York Sun and Henry's nemesis in the newsroom. She enforces financial cutbacks, rejects Henry's request to extend the deadline, and initially refuses to s...
Michael McDougal
(played by Randy Quaid) — supporting
Michael McDougal is a columnist at The New York Sun and Henry's newsroom ally. He shares Henry's doubts about the teenagers' arrest after hearing police criticism on the scanner, helps obtain confirma...
Canonical Relationships
Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.
Alicia Clark → Bernie White
(Professional Editorial Colleagues)
Alicia serves as managing editor while Bernie is editor-in-chief at The New York Sun, placing them in the newspaper's senior editorial structure.
Henry Hackett → Bernie White
(Professional Editor And Subordinate)
Henry is the metro editor of The New York Sun, while Bernie is its editor-in-chief. Henry worries that Bernie's career-first example could define his...
Story Dynamics
Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.
Michael McDougal → Alicia Clark
(Alliance Persuader)
At the bar, McDougal tells Alicia that publishing the false arrest story would be the first time the paper knowingly ran a false story, prompting her...
Henry Hackett → Michael McDougal
(Alliance Investigative Partners)
Henry and columnist Michael McDougal become skeptical of the arrests, investigate the case together, and obtain confirmation that the suspects are inn...
Henry Hackett → Alicia Clark
(Conflict Editorial Adversaries)
Henry pushes to extend the deadline and publish the correct story, but Alicia refuses because of overtime costs. They later have a fistfight before Al...
Story Analysis
A driven newspaper editor risks his career and family stability to expose a false arrest before the wrong story goes to press.
