WHY ROCK THE BOAT

Harry Barnes, two years out of high school and a very minor reporter on the Montreal Daily Witness for three months, seems to have two obsessive goals: the first is to become a good reporter on the newspaper; second, to lose his 19-year-old virginity. When Harry meets Julia Martin, a beautiful, young reporter on a rival Montreal newspaper, the achievement of his second goal becomes even more pressing, especially as he and she become ""Hotel Reporter"" on their respective papers. Meanwhile, a nameless person on the staff of the Witness finds some libelous stories about the boss of the paper which Harry has written in moments of fantasy, and they begin appearing anonymously in the newspaper with great repercussions and frantic attempts to find and fire the culprit who is responsible for them. Strangely enough, Harry doesn't lose his job, does achieve his second goal with the eager assistance of an ""older woman"" (the City Manager's wife), and continues to pursue Julia Martin in a serious and strictly honourable fashion. The machinations of a newspaper staff are extremely dull and petty as they are recorded here, and there is nothing convincing or original throughout.