Park Row

Phineas Mitchell is fired from The Star for criticizing its methods and philosophy. When his friends defend him, they are discharged as well. The group of newly unemployed men then drown their sorrows in a bar as they face an uncertain future.

Steve Brodie bursts into the scene claiming he survived a jump from the Brooklyn Bridge and insists Mitchell write a sensational article to make him famous. Mitchell informs him he has no newspaper job to offer. The encounter sets off a chain of events that will draw Mitchell back into journalism.

Charles A. Leach declares he wants to go into journalism and proposes a partnership to start a new paper. He provides a printing press, offices, and enough money to launch. Mitchell accepts and immediately hires his friends to form The Globe.

The Globe is born and gains traction with fearless coverage, overcoming frugal resources. Mitchell enlists veteran Josiah Davenport and eager Rusty, and secures the front-page lead by dragging Brodie out from behind the bar for the first issue.

Charity Hackett visits The Globe, eyeing a merger but also exploring Ottmar Mergenthaler’s Linotype machine as a way to outpace rivals. She hopes to lure key talent for The Star and weaken The Globe’s printing ability.

Hackett offers a merger, but Mitchell rejects it and remains committed to independence. In retaliation, Hackett’s associate is ordered to cut off ink and paper to The Globe, escalating tensions and threatening the paper’s survival.

The Globe’s supply troubles lead to a violent confrontation as men are beaten and Rusty is run over by a wagon. Mitchell confronts Hackett, insisting he didn’t intend such harm and arguing over accountability.

Mitchell launches a public fundraising drive to cover France’s gift—the Statue of Liberty pedestal—and vows to publish every donor’s name. He later discovers that con men are collecting money in The Globe’s name, drawing government scrutiny.

The government orders the funds returned after discovering the con men’s deception. Mitchell writes a scathing article exposing the fraud, but the Globe’s press room is vandalized with spilled type and glue, threatening the paper’s recovery.

Ottmar Mergenthaler’s Linotype machine is declared complete, and the Globe is poised to print again. Hackett provides the press and paper to support a rapid relaunch as the paper’s fortunes turn around.

A bomb destroys the Globe’s new printing press, leaving Mitchell devastated and drinking himself to sleep. The setback seems nearly insurmountable for the fledgling newspaper.

The next morning, Mitchell finds that the story has been read by everyone, and Mergenthaler has again used the machine to typeset the paper. Hackett reveals she has supplied press and paper and plans to kill The Star so The Globe can flourish.

The film closes not with The End, but with the word THIRTY, signaling the end of a story and the ongoing cycle of journalism. The Globe’s resilience and Hackett’s ambitions leave its heroes facing an uncertain but hopeful future.