In 1974, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the famous anchorman for a local San Diego television station, fictional KVWN channel 4. He works alongside his friends on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champion "Champ" Kind (David Koechner), and intellectually disabled chief meteorologist Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). Station director Ed Harken (Fred Willard) informs the team that they have maintained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party, where Ron unsuccessfully tries to pick up a beautiful, blonde woman (Christina Applegate). Ed later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Veronica Corningstone, the same woman whom Ron tried to pick up. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally relents and consents to a "professional tour" of the city with Ron, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Ron announces it on air.
In 1997, Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), an obituary and wedding announcement writer for The New York Times, travels to Pasadena, California, for her sister Annie's (Mena Suvari) wedding, accompanied by her fiancé Jeff Daly (Mark Ruffalo). At a pre-wedding party, Sarah learns from her grandmother Katharine (Shirley MacLaine) that her mother Jocelyn ran off to Cabo San Lucas to spend time with her prep school classmate Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) the week before her wedding to Sarah's father Earl (Richard Jenkins). Jeff points out Sarah's parents were married just short of nine months before her birth, leading her to wonder if Beau might really be her biological father. Sarah also discovers her grandmother might have been the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, an infamous character in the novel The Graduate.
One night, a thief fleeing through Georgetown in Washington, D.C., is shot by a man carrying a briefcase. A pizza delivery man who witnesses the incident is also shot by the killer and is left in a coma. The following morning, a young woman is killed by a Washington Metro train in what seems to be suicide. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is distraught to hear that the woman was Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), a lead researcher on his staff. Collins, who has military experience, is leading an investigation into PointCorp, a private defense contractor with controversial operations involving mercenaries. Collins tells his former college roommate and old friend Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), an investigative reporter, that he had been having an affair with Sonia and that she had sent him a cheerful video message on the morning of her death, which he says is inconsistent and unusual behavior for someone about to commit suicide.
On July 4, 1969, an unknown male attacks Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau with a handgun, at a lovers' lane in Vallejo, California. Mageau survives; Ferrin dies.
Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) is an insecure copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times who has never had a real relationship. One day, her editor-in-chief, Rigfort (Garry Marshall) assigns her to report undercover at a high school to help parents become more aware of their children's lives.
Reporter Rowena Price, under the pseudonym of David Shane (Halle Berry), and researcher Miles Haley (Giovanni Ribisi) are investigating conservative Republican senator Stephen Sachs, who has been having secret sexual encounters with his male interns, despite his publicly anti-gay agenda. The story is shut down, however, when the source clams up and Rowena's editor, a supporter of the senator, puts a stop to the story. The editor also insists she take a vacation and won't take no for an answer.
In June 1972, a security guard (Frank Wills, playing himself) at the Watergate complex finds a door kept unlocked with tape. He calls the police, who find and arrest five burglars in the Democratic National Committee headquarters within the complex. The next morning, The Washington Post assigns new reporter Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) to the local courthouse to cover the story, which is thought to be of minor importance.
In a short prelude, U.S. Army General Hopgood (Stephen Lang) is painfully thwarted in an attempt to pass paranormally through a solid wall by simply running into it. The film then follows Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), whose wife leaves him for the newspaper's editor. Seeking an escape, Bob flies to Kuwait to report on the Iraq War and to prove to his wife and himself that he is a man. However, he stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets a retired U.S. Army Special Forces operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who reveals that he was part of a U.S. Army unit training psychic spies (or "Jedi Warriors") to develop a range of parapsychological skills including invisibility, remote viewing, and phasing. The back story is told mainly through flashbacks.
The film revolves around three characters who work in television news. Jane Craig (Hunter) is a talented, neurotic producer whose life revolves around her work. Jane's best friend and frequent collaborator, Aaron Altman (Brooks), is a gifted writer and reporter ambitious for on-camera exposure who is secretly in love with Jane. Tom Grunick (Hurt), a local news anchorman who until recently was a sports anchorman, is likeable and telegenic, but lacks news experience and knows that he was only hired for his good looks and charm. He is attracted to Jane, although he is also intimidated by her skills and intensity.
With her new wealth, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) purchases an apartment in Stockholm. On returning to Sweden after nearly a year living abroad, Salander reconnects with her former lover Miriam Wu (Yasmine Garbi) and offers her free use of her previous apartment in return for forwarding her mail. Later, Salander confronts her guardian, Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson) after hacking into his mail and discovering he has an appointment booked with a tattoo removal specialist. Threatening him with his own gun, she warns him not to remove the tattoo that she etched on his abdomen as revenge for sexually abusing her, marking him as "a pervert, a rapist and a sadistic pig".
Lee Kang-hee, an editor at an influential conservative newspaper, raises congressman Jang Pil-woo to the position of leading Presidential candidate using the power of the press; behind this is his secret deal with the paper's biggest sponsor. Ahn Sang-goo, a political henchman who supported Lee and Jang, gets caught pocketing the record of the sponsor's slush fund, resulting in a dismembered hand. Woo Jang-hoon, an ambitious prosecutor, starts to investigate the relationship between Jang and the sponsor, believing that it's his only chance to make it to the top. While getting down to the brass tacks of the case, Woo meets Ahn, who has been methodically planning his revenge. Now the war between the one blinded with power, the one hell-bent on vengeance, and the one eager for success begins.
Peter Brackett, le journaliste vedette du Chicago Chronicle, use de son prestige pour séduire les jeunes femmes et vendre son premier roman, Légers mensonges. Le déraillement d'un train, d'apparence banal, lui donne l'occasion de mener une petite enquête comme il les aime. À un premier imprévu — l'irruption d'une belle concurrente longiligne, Sabrina Peterson, du Globe — s'en ajoute bientôt un autre, beaucoup plus inquiétant. La catastrophe ferroviaire cache une sombre affaire, fertile en meurtres et en tentatives de corruption, qu'un sigle mystérieux, « L.D.F. », ne permet guère d'expliquer. Tout en se querellant, Sabrina et Brackett remontent la filière jusqu'à une grande entreprise chimique, connue pour sa fabrication de napalm pendant la guerre du Viêt Nam.
During a prologue that is not directly related to the main plot, CBS producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) convinces the founder of Hezbollah, Sheikh Fadlallah, to grant an interview to Mike Wallace (Plummer) for 60 Minutes. While preparing for the interview, both Wallace and Bergman firmly stand their ground against the Sheikh's armed and hostile bodyguards' attempted intimidation and disruption.
Aspiring news producer Becky Fuller has dreamed since childhood of working for the Today show, but her dedication to her career is off-putting to potential suitors. After being laid off from her job at the local Good Morning New Jersey, her mother advises her to give up her dream before it becomes an embarrassment. However, Becky perseveres, sending many different résumés out. She finally receives a call from IBS, which is looking for a producer on its struggling national morning show, DayBreak.
Los Angeles Times reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chase) is writing an article exposing the drug traffic on the beaches of Los Angeles. Posing as an addict during his investigation, he is approached by Boyd Aviation executive vice president Alan Stanwyk (Matheson) who mistakenly assumes Fletch is a junkie. Stanwyk claims to have bone cancer, with only months left to live, and wishes to avoid the pain and suffering. Stanwyk offers $50,000 for Fletch to come to his mansion in a few days time, kill him, and then escape to Rio de Janeiro, staging the murder to appear as the result of a burglary.