The Christmas Beat

As the holidays arrive, Chicago waitress Meghan Wilson gets an unexpected opportunity: the chance to work for a newspaper and pursue her dream of a journalism career. But the new job requires that she leave her big-city home for the mountain town of Pine Bluff, Tennessee, where Christmas reigns supreme and journalism has no rules. Furthermore, Meghan learns that her former college journalism professor has worked out a deal: If she does well in Pine Bluff, she will get the chance to return to Chicago and work for a big newspaper. Upon arriving in Pine Bluff, Meghan discovers that her office is located inside a barn. She soon realizes that running a small-town newspaper paper isn’t as romantic as she’d imagined. Meghan is quickly tossed into the fire as she learns of the Christmas Challenge, an annual contest for best newspaper in the county. Her paper, The Pine Bluff Tribune, has won the contest for 17 consecutive years. And now it’s up to Meghan to show off her skills, continue the town’s winning streak and keep bragging rights in Pine Bluff. Unfortunately, Meghan has a difficult time finding news stories in Pine Bluff. Quite simply, there’s not much happening other than the town’s annual Christmas festival -- and perhaps an occasional cat stuck in a tree. What’s worse, the editor of The Ridgetop Gazette – the rival newspaper in the county – is determined to make life miserable for newcomer Meghan and take the Christmas Challenge cup away from Pine Bluff. On the bright side, Meghan finds a pleasant distraction in Cal, the local handyman who constantly bumps into her around town. Although curiously guarded around Meghan at first, Cal eventually warms to her, offering her tours of the town, making repairs in her office, and even helping her to find the Christmas spirit. Yet despite Cal's friendship and support, Meghan faces an uphill battle in her quest to win the Christmas Challenge and fulfill her journalism dreams.