Nicolas Schou, award-winning investigative journalist, author of “Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb,” exposes government operatives altering media stories and films. He names names and spotlights flagrant examples of collusion, of respected reporters selling out to powerful agencies. For the first time, Schou gets CIA officers, Hollywood consultants, reporters, and entertainment executives to go on record about the ways “true stories” come about and how the CIA has embedded itself in Hollywood to ensure that the agency gets the hero treatment on-screen. We learn about how some of Hollywood’s brightest stars gain unique access inside agency headquarters — and what price they pay for that access. Schou relates how the CIA routinely vets articles on controversial topics such as the drone assassination program, granting friendly reporters background briefings on classified material, while simultaneously prosecuting ex-officers who release damaging information.61560