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"The Big Scoop" is an episode in the Hey Arnold! TV Series.

Synopsis[]

Helga breaks away from Arnold's school newspaper and exercises her First Amendment right to start one of her own, filled with exaggerated untruths instead of facts.

Plot[]

Arnold is the editor of the P.S.118 school newspaper called "The Weekly Word" with the motto, "all the facts, all the time". Everyone is busy finishing the latest edition including Gerald's piece on faulty water fountains. Helga then arrives with her story on the school lunches, saying she has got the best story of all. Arnold asks Helga if she checked her sources and reminds her of the newspaper's motto.

Helga disagrees saying that stories should be made beyond the truth. Gerald replies that Principal Wartz was pretty mad for the last story Helga wrote about his best friend being a squirrel. Helga argues that she has pictures to prove it and pictures are seen of Wartz feeding the squirrel a peanut.

When the paper is published, Helga's story is revealed to be a bias opinion on the lunch lady with a headline saying, "LEFTOVER LUNCHES USED OVER AND OVER".

Wartz reads it and is not impressed, and the lunch lady is very upset. Wartz confronts Arnold on this, and he replies that Helga checked her sources. Helga says that four days in a row, she asked the lunch lady what was for lunch and each time she replied, "Same old thing."

Wartz tells Arnold to remove the story that is sullying the good name of the cafeteria and asks him to think about what newspaper he is publishing: truth or fiction.

Later Arnold and Helga have a discussion. Arnold says Helga's antics are not living up to the newspaper's standards. Helga disagrees, saying that kids want juicy, exciting stories more than the boring truth. Arnold argues that Helga shouldn't write inaccurate truths when it's convenient and wants the newspaper to say just the facts.

Helga then decides to quit Arnold's newspaper and start her own called "The Pataki Press" containing stories of her own with Phoebe as her reporting partner to show Arnold how real reporting should be done.

After publishing her first edition, Helga starts selling it to the kids for five cents. It has a forged picture of Arnold kisses a tree under the headline ARNOLD IN LOVE WITH A TREE, which Arnold angrily denies as true. Gerald tells Arnold to calm down, saying that everyone knows that it is just a made-up story, and he shouldn't get upset. However, he sees another edition with a humiliating picture of him with the headline GERALD PLAYS WITH LITTLE SISTER'S DOLLS and starts getting angry too. Arnold tries giving him the same advice, but when Gerald sees Ruth and Nadine giggling, it's the final straw and he calls Sid, asking him to get some dirt on Helga.

Later that night, Arnold and Gerald have just finished publishing their newspaper with Arnold saying that they will beat Helga and her bogus stories with the truth.

After they leave, Helga and Phoebe who were hiding in the storage closet, go snooping through their latest edition (despite Phoebe thinking it is unethical). Helga finds their biggest story about the new playground equipment being a success and decides to write a bogus story about it.

The next day Helga rushes in with her new edition with the headline NEW JUNGLE GYM: UNSAFE AND RUSTY, just as Arnold and Gerald arrive to hand out their newspapers. Arnold is cross with Helga stealing their story. Helga then proclaims another headline of Arnold not bathing. Gerald suddenly steps away and Stinky who is passing, holds his nose. Arnold insists that it isn't true, but Stinky argues that it must be, seeing as they paid five cents to read about it.

Gerald assures him that they will get their own back. Later in dark corridor, Sid delivers some humiliating pictures of Helga sucking her thumb, playing with a teddy bear and ballet dancing. Gerald then tells Arnold that they can use them against Helga in a blackmailing scheme to stop her bogus stories. Arnold, however, is against the idea and doesn't want to stoop to Helga's level.

Later Helga and Phoebe listen to a conversation with Ernie and Wartz about knocking parts of the school down. This gives Helga an idea for another bogus story, stating that P.S. 118 would be closed down, torn down and an amusement park would be made on the exact spot.

Arnold and Gerald overhear their conversation and decide to get the real truth from Wartz. After visiting Wartz at his house, he tells them that they are knocking down parts of the school to make room for more classrooms.

While Helga and Phoebe set to work on their bogus story, Arnold, Gerald and the rest of the news team set to work in publishing their latest edition. The story from Wartz is printed on the front page with the headline SCHOOL STILLS STANDS, PRINCIPAL SAYS HELGA IS WRONG! Arnold and Gerald are pleased that they have a strong true and solid story that will scoop Helga's bogus one.

The next day, Arnold and Gerald are handing out their newspaper when Helga rushes in saying her latest headline of the school being torn down for an amusement park, but no one seems to be taking notice, so Helga tries again, even louder.

Stinky tells her what she is saying is different from what the Weekly Word says. Helga snatches, reads the headline and tosses it back, asking if they believe such trash.

The other students voice their reply as yes with Arnold adding that no one believes anything that is in Helga's paper.

Helga then tries again, dropping the price to two cents and adding that she had exclusive photos of Rhonda having webbed feet. Harold tells Helga to leave and take her lies with her, beginning a chant around the school.

Helga asks why everyone is upset as she only wanted to publish more exciting stories than the boring truth. Arnold replies that she pushed the truth too far. An annoyed Helga then leaves, taking most of her newspapers with her, while Arnold and Gerald continue giving out their own newspaper declaring that it is the real truth about what is happening at the school.

Back in the Weekly Word newsroom, Helga and Phoebe are back running the paper with Arnold and things seem to be back to normal. However, Helga doesn't seem to have learnt her lesson as she writes an exaggerated weather report that Arnold immediately makes her change, again stating the newspaper motto.

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