Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) is a reporter at The New Republic, where he has made a name for himself for writing colorful stories. His editor, Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria), is revered by his young staff. When David Keene (at the time Chairman of the American Conservative Union) questions Glass' description of minibars and the drunken antics of Young Republicans at a convention, Kelly backs his reporter when Glass admits to one mistake but says the rest is true.