Perry refers to Clark as the new "stringer," i.e. freelancer, so maybe he just had to show up with one good story that Perry wanted to buy. Then the only curious bit is that he assigned his Pulitzer-winning star to "show him the ropes."
Re Jonathan, I'm not saying he's *right*, nor that they executed it well; it was more exposition than integration. But I think it's the seed of what they were going for.
