A news documentary shows Kane's legendary life, and a black-framed picture of Kane occupies the whole screen. All kinds of newspapers reported the death of this powerful man on the front page. The commentary said: "In its heyday, Kane's empire once controlled 37 newspapers, 13 magazines and a radio network. This is the empire in the empire. " News Mirror traced the origin of Kane's rise, then founded Inquirer, set foot in politics and became a man of the hour. He has been married twice and divorced twice, once with the president's niece Emily, who rose to the top; Once I married Susan, a "female singer", which was a sensation. It was his affair with Susan that was exposed, which led to his political career in running for governor, and never recovered. After the Great Depression, the Kane Empire declined rapidly. In his later years, Kane lived in a secluded place in the Sannadu Manor until his death.
Jocelton, the editor-in-chief of a magazine, was not satisfied with this hastily edited news film, so he entrusted a young reporter Thomson to conduct an in-depth investigation on Kane's life and asked him to find out the true meaning of Kane's last words "Rosebud" in order to reveal the true image of this "American Kublai Khan" as a human being.
The first object that Thomson visited was Kane's second wife Susan. She is now a singer in a cheap bar in Atlanta. She is 50 years old and still wears heavy makeup, but she flatly refused to be interviewed. The marching orders of Fuck Off may be hiding the pain of this famous singer's life.
In the Cecil Memorial Library in Philadelphia, Thomson was allowed to enter the archives to consult the unpublished manuscript of the memoirs of the late banker Cecil. 1870 that snowy winter, Kane's mother ran a family-style boarding apartment. In the early years, a tenant defaulted on the rent and used a property right contract of an abandoned mine as collateral. Unexpectedly, this abandoned mine was later proved to be rich, and the Kane family immediately made a fortune. When Kane's mother entrusted her property to him, she wanted to send him to the metropolis for education. Little Kane doesn't understand what he wants him to be when he grows up, "the richest man in America." He refused to leave his mother and this rural town, so he rammed Cecil with his sleigh. But he was finally taken away, leaving the children playing in the snow in the sleigh. After Kane acquired property rights as an adult, he took the initiative to buy the first newspaper and publish The Inquirer. He openly opposed Cecil, talked about maintaining social justice when he was in a mood, and pretended to protect the poor from exploitation by a big company (he owns a huge stake in this company). The conclusion written in Cecil's manuscript is that Kane is just a lucky rogue, spoiled and irresponsible.
In the skyscraper of The Inquirer in new york, Thomson met Bernstein, the general manager who cooperated with Kane in running the newspaper. The old man recalled 1890 the first day Kane took over the newspaper. Kane is young and arrogant. He advocates not asking the truth, creating sensational news and competing with documentaries for readers. However, in the Declaration of Principles released to the public, Kane solemnly wrote: "I want to provide a daily newspaper to the residents of this city, which should faithfully report the news ... and no special interest groups are allowed to interfere in the authenticity of these news." Kane believed in pragmatism and was brave in innovation. He devoted himself to politics from running a newspaper. He also dragged the whole class of rival documentaries into his own newspaper, and even created public opinion to encourage the United States to get involved in the Spanish-American War of 1897. He also realized his marriage with the president's niece Emily with political ambition. As for the question about "Rosebud", Bernstein can't explain it, only that it may be the girl he loves, or "he lost something". Finally, Bernstein suggested that Thomson go to Leland, Kane's college friend and later a drama columnist, and said that this person had first-hand information about Kane's private life.
In the hospital, Thomson found Leland in a wheelchair. Down and out Leland told him that Kane lived by power and that he was a poor newspaper operator. "He entertains his readers, but he never tells them the truth." His marriage with the president's niece Emily is purely political, and its breakdown is inevitable; Later, I met the singer Susan, and fell in love at first sight, which led to the scandal of "A golden house hides a charming woman". When Kane entered politics and was elected governor, his political opponent Gatis defeated him with the scandal of "Kane is in love with a singer". Kane built an opera house for Susan, but Susan's first performance with limited talent failed. Leland wrote an article criticizing truthfully, saying that Susan was just "a beautiful, but inadequate, amateur". This critical article was written by Kane, because Leland can't die of alcohol. After the article was published, Leland was immediately fired by Kane, and their friendship broke down. Kane suffered setbacks in politics and love, and lived in seclusion in the manor of Sandu Palace.