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Reese Lansing is the president of Atlantic Cable News (ACN). He is the son of AWM owner Leona Lansing. ("The 112th Congress")

Biography[]

April 2010[]

He has been briefing News Night anchor Will McAvoy about the ratings of his show. News Division Director Charlie Skinner asks Reese to stop the meetings because he is concerned they will detract from the show's new direction. Reese ignores the request and continues to meet with Will. He encourages Will to support Sarah Palin after she makes a disastrous speech in order to heighten his popularity amongst conservatives. Charlie's fears prove correct when Will follows Reese's advice without consulting his new executive producer MacKenzie McHale. The segment is poorly prepared and does not make sense. ("News Night 2.0")

November 2010[]

Reese and his mother, company owner Leona Lansing, are angry about the News Night program's direction. Leona is irked by her network alienating the rising political powers among the Tea Party with their coverage because of their potential to influence her business. Reese has a ratings expert link the show's coverage to declining ratings in a meeting with Charlie Skinner. Charlie argues that it is their duty to expose shortcomings and prejudice among their leaders. Leona warns him that she will fire Will if the problems persist. Charlie shields the News Night team from the ire of the corporation. ("The 112th Congress")

Gabrielle Giffords shooting[]

Reese watches the show reporting the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. During the coverage, a false report spreads on Fox, CNN and MSNBC that the Congresswoman is dead. Anxious to stay current, Reese charges into the studio to convince Will to report her death but Will refuses. Moments later reports that she is alive and in surgery are confirmed. ("I'll Try to Fix You")

Phone Hacking[]

Reese has been ordering wiretaps and hacking the phones to get leads for stories for the ACN Tabloid "TMI Magazine", much like "News of the World". The primary difference being, not only did Reese know about the hacks he has been ordering them. He has also been hacking the phones of his own employees, specifically Will and MacKenzie. He has then been feeding these leads to Nina Howard of "TMI" to fuel her attack articles on Will and News Night. ("The Blackout Part I: Tragedy Porn")

Resse is confronted with the phone hacking accusations by Charlie, Will and MacKenzie. Reese denies the allegations at first but then relents, admitting his guilt in front of his mother Leona Lansing. He seems surprised that she doesn't agree with him. Defiant to the end, when Reese finds out that Charlie was recording his confession he insists to Leona that they fight Charlie and his demands. ("The Greater Fool")

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Season 1
"We Just Decided To" "News Night 2.0" "The 112th Congress" "I'll Try to Fix You" "Amen"
"Bullies" "5/1" "The Blackout Part I: Tragedy Porn" "The Blackout Part II: Mock Debate" "The Greater Fool"
Season 2
"First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Lawyers" "The Genoa Tip" "Willie Pete" "Unintended Consequences" "News Night with Will McAvoy"
"One Step Too Many" "Red Team III" "Election Night, Part I" "Election Night, Part II"

References[]

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