Tom Hammerschmidt and Margaret Tilden in “Unfinished Business”

Tom Hammerschmidt

I know how to run a paper, Margaret. What I don't know how to do is run a paper staffed with people I can't control.

Was she really out of control?! To my understanding, she simply turned down a new position.

Tom Hammerschmidt

It's her attitude. It's the way she turned it down.

Did you think to ask her what she'd rather do instead?

Tom Hammerschmidt

Is it my job to pander to all my employees--

My employees. And if they have something to offer that you don't, yes, it is your job. We've been through this, Tom. The paper's operating at a loss. We need people like Zoe.

Tom Hammerschmidt

I'm very aware of how much we're hurting, Margaret. Staff reductions, dip in circulation. Each one of those faces and every subscriber we lose, they keep me awake at night. Now, I won't argue the business side of things. It's neither my place nor my area of expertise, but know this-- Zoe Barnes, Twitter, blogs, enriched media, they're all surface. They're fads. They aren't the foundation this paper was built on, and they aren't what will keep it alive. We have a core readership that thirsts for hard news. Those are the people I work for. And I won't be distracted by what's fashionable.