Young William Randolph Hearst goes to war against an ageing Joseph Pulitzer as each tries to monopolize coverage of a mysterious homicide capturing New York?s imagination, birthing the modern concept of sensationalist media coverage.

"Challenging an aging Joseph Pulitzer as each tries to monopolize New York?s fiery imagination about a mysterious homicide , Young William Randolph Hearst gives birth to the modern concept of sensationalist media coverage."

I think these are roots for a good movie that can be told from many POV:
- An inciting incident: a mysterious homicide in New York
- Two heros/antagonists
- Two flaws : inexperience, age
- Two advantages : youth, experience
- One shared goal : monopolize New York?s fiery imagination
- One shared stake : the win

This is just a duel.

Hi Alex - Thanks for your feedback! Did you know there is a section on this site that explains what the components of a good logline are? It's here: https://staging.loglineit.com/howto

. Saves you from having to copy & paste the guidelines. :)
Also - minor detail - we spell "inciting incident".

Hi Alex - Thanks for your feedback! Did you know there is a section on this site that explains what the components of a good logline are? It's here: https://loglines.org/howto

. Saves you from having to copy & paste the guidelines. :)
Also - minor detail - we spell "inciting incident".

PROS
- A unique story.
- Clear goal.

CONS
- Passive protagonist elements. The real story would be better perceived from the murderer's P.O.V.
- High budget/period piece.

With a few more re-writes, the writer could have addressed the underlying story problems that face this from being a knockout of a logline/story. The real concern is having the protagonist(s) observe the real story that if not handled correctly could be its own downfall. Hopefully the focus is put on the sabotage of each individual and their respective media outlets.

One difficulty with this story is the stakes. What is Hearst at risk of losing if he fails?

Not his fortune. William Randolph Hearst was heir to the greatest mining fortune in American history; it took him almost his entire life of 88 years (he died in 1951) to spend it all and go bankrupt. The money he flung into his newspaper war with Pulitzer at the close of the 19th century was chump change.

So what the Scheherazade factor in the story? What is there for the audience to wonder and worry about?

"When a mysterious homicide captures New York's imagination, A young William Hearst uses every trick in the book to monopolize the story against his aging rival, Joseph Pulitzer."

I do believe people who'll be pitched this idea will know who William Randolph Hearst was, since 'Citizen Kane' was about him and one of the greatest movies of all time.

However Nicholas makes a good point, Who'll the audience be rooting for. Hearst who's the father of sensationalist media or Pulitzer, the well respected media guy. (Alright, Pulitzer did his share of sensationalism as well)

However, I believe a movie that 'depicts' Pulitzer as the editor who champions "hard" News and Hearst, the editor who champions "Sensationalism" battling it out for the future for the news industry would be a great idea and relevant with what's happening today with the media.

Hope that helped, good luck with this!

I don't know who or what your protagonist and antagonist is/are ... I assume reporters or newspaper editors? The name "Pulitzer" should probably give me some indication, BUT ... let's assume that I am a producer you've just pitched the script to ... am I expected to go and look it up on wikipedia, learn about the real people and events, before I can decide whether I think your story is compelling enough to read?

Also ... unless I am a history scholar, I have no personal connection with these characters yet, so AVOID using their names. With the excpetion of writing an entry into an existing franchise, stick with CHARACTER FLAW and then one other identifier (FATHER / REPORTER / DETECTIVE / MENTAL PATIENT).

"Goes to war" would probably work, if I knew the "world" in which these characters operated. Media ... but specifically newspapers? Does one character specifically try to block the other character out of reporting the event?

There's a story here but I'm confused by your logline.

A SMITH 5 Things your Protagonist can't survive without.....FUNCTION, WEAKNESS,INSIGHTING INCIDENT, GOAL AND STAKES.......... This idea sounds like a begining of a story, A set up to CAPTURE THE COVERAGE OF THIS NOTORIOUS KILLER..............But why is this so important now......This is however not a logline.............Follow the bare bones principle and hav a nice day...........Olay a la logline......A........