This docudrama chronicles the life of gossip columnist Walter Winchell (Stanley Tucci). Rising to fame in the mid-1930s, Winchell helps usher in the age of tabloid journalism with his talent for digging up dirt about the rich and powerful. By the 1950s, Winchell has secured his place as America's leader in controversy -- even if his prose comes courtesy of ghostwriter Herman Klurfeld (Paul Giamatti). But the tables turn when Winchell finds himself at the center of a high-profile scandal.