Season 4 spoilers follow. You have been warned.
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The Washington Herald
Margaret
Margaret Tilden
Played By: Kathleen Chalfant
The owner of The Washington Herald.
- Cool Old Lady: Her reaction to Tom's breakdown embodies this trope.
- Iron Lady: Very committed to the Herald and almost completely imperturbable.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: In Season 4, she hears out Tom's story and provides him with the resources and legitimacy he needs to break the story surrounding Frank's betrayal of President Walker.
Hammerschmidt
Thomas 'Tom' Hammerschmidt
"I won't be distracted by what's fashionable."
Played By: Boris McGiver
Dismissing the now considerably shortens your future.
Editor-in-Chief for The Washington Herald.
- Being Good Sucks: Tom does his best to stick by his principles and treat his employees fairly. It gets him absolutely nowhere and ultimately ends with his dismissal.
- The Bus Came Back: After Lucas Goodwin's death in the attempted assassination of Frank, Hammerschmidt is the one who starts recruiting people that Frank betrayed, seeking to bring the man down.
- Country Matters: And boy, does it. Calling Zoe this (while she was secretly recording him) speeds up his downfall and ruins his reputation.
- Da Editor: Or Editor-in-Chief, for The Washington Herald.
- The Determinator: After Lucas dies, Tom investigates the original story from Lucas, Zoe, and Janine's initial investigation; then he goes to work bringing in practically anyone that Frank betrayed in order to expose him.
- A Father to His Men: At the Herald, although he has no patience for traitors like Zoe. Also does his best to look into Lucas' story on Frank in Season 2. It doesn't result in much, though, as the tracks have been covered so much that Tom's findings make Lucas look like a paranoid Yandere looking for blame after Zoe's death.
- Good Is Not Nice: Tom has integrity, but not manners.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Tom is very fond of his dog.
- Graceful Loser: After being fired, he admits his faults and inability to catch up with the evolving media landscape, before going for a drink with his former boss.
- Grumpy Old Man: Oh, he complains with the best of them. Ties into Good Is Not Nice.
- Old Media Playing Catch-Up: The tragedy of his character is that Tom isn't suited for the digital age, and is painfully aware that he's on the verge of being left behind. Ironically, his Good Old Ways style of investigation is what finally cracks the Underwoods' cover-ups.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: His general philosophy; he won't abide by new rules or guidelines if it conflicts with his moral compass.
Lucas
Lucas Goodwin / John Carlyle
Played By: Sebastian Arcelus
Maybe this nice guy doesn't finish last.
Editor of the Washington Herald and friend of Zoe Barnes.
- Ascended Extra: He's more of a supporting character in the first season, but plays a bigger role later on.
- Badass Boast: Makes one to Gavin.Lucas: You think you're a badass because you're on some vigilante anarchist kick? At least I have the balls to put my name on the work I do.
- The Bus Came Back: After being incarcerated midway through season 2, he's released into the Witness Protection Program in season 4. But an attempt to convince Dunbar to investigate Frank fails, and he dies trying to assassinate Frank.
- Crusading Boyfriend: Becomes obsessed with investigating and exposing Frank after Zoe's murder.
- Guile Hero: The way he tracks down Rachel demonstrates impressive intelligence and resourcefulness.
- Hero Antagonist: Becomes one toward the end of the first season; even more so in the second.
- Intrepid Reporter: He has the makings of one, but isn't quite as willing to leave his morals at the door as the more successful Zoe.
- Nice Guys Finish Last: Is rejected by Zoe twice. Only after Frank Underwood has had his way with her for months, does she give him a chance. When he discovers that Zoe had an affair with Frank to help her own career, Lucas beings worry that his own relationship with Zoe only exists because she needs his help investigating Peter Russo's death.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His failed assassination attempt against Frank in season 4 not only gives the latter the necessary sympathy points to get the upper hand in the primaries, it also reconciled the Underwoods, who are considerably stronger together. Not to mention it gets Lucas killed...
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: How he sees himself as, with no evidence of Frank's wrongdoing, Lucas decides to shoot Frank at a rally but only succeeds in wounding Frank, kills Meechum, and ends up shot dead himself. Naturally, he's painted in the media as simply a nutcase rather than the hero he sees himself as. However, his death DOES lead Tom Hammerschmidt to reopen the original story Lucas brought to him about Frank.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Lucas seemed to think of himself as the lone heroic reporter in a suspense thriller, where he would reveal the evil conspiracy and bring down the corrupt politician (Frank Underwood) who murdered his girlfriend. Too bad his actions ultimately lead him to prison.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Goes to Dunbar in season 4 to try and make her see how Frank is a ruthless killer but she writes him off as crazy. This leads him to try to assassinate Frank.
Slugline
Carly
Carly Heath
Played By: Tawny Cypress
Zoe
Zoe Barnes
"Nobody tells me when to work and when to play."
Played By: Kate Mara
Don't let her youth and beauty get under your skin.
A reporter for The Washington Herald (later moving to Slugline following an altercation with her boss). After meeting Frank Underwood, she quickly forms an intimate relationship with him with both of them using each other for advancement in their careers, with Underwood using her to leak stories to hamper the progress of his opponents.
- Adaptational Villainy: Mattie Storin from the original series is a complete rube who's being manipulated from the start. Zoe, on the other hand, is using Frank just as much as he's using her.
- Ambition Is Evil: Her hunger for success leads her to become increasingly morally compromised.
- Character Tic: Tends to bite her nails one at a time when anxious.
- Fatal Flaw: In Season 2, Frank is once again able to tempt Zoe into pursuing her ambitious side. Then he kills her.
It is left unclear whether or not Zoe had genuinely "relapsed" into working for Frank or if she was simply trying to lure him into revealing something damning about Russo's murder. Either way it doesn't matter, as part of her gambit she deletes all evidence of her contact with him and confirms that she knows too much, leaving absolutely no reason for Frank to leave her alive. - Hollywood Beauty Standards: Zoe is telegenic on TV, and discovers she likes doing that (and screwing her source) better than being a newspaper reporter.
- Intrepid Reporter: Zig-zagged and inverted before ultimately being played straight.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Frank suddenly kills her just as she's talking to him.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Pushed in front of a subway train because of her continued pursuit in Russo's death. Security camera footage makes it look like she either jumped or tripped. Frank pushes her himself to boot.
- Sacrificial Lion: In case Russo's death still left doubt in anybody's mind, Zoe's paints a pretty clear picture that nobody is safe.
- Sex for Services: Sleeps with Frank to get news out of him.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She starts a relationship with Lucas - whom she had twice rejected earlier - after the fling with Frank ends. Possibly a subversion, however, because Lucas wonders if he's just being used once he finds out that Zoe is not above sleeping with someone to advance her career.
- Spanner in the Works: Increasingly moves in this direction as she becomes much more confident.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Frank throws her in front of a train very abruptly.
Janine
Janine Skorsky
"It's not worth fucking your way to the middle."
Played By: Constance Zimmer
The pen is snarkier than the sword.
A veteran reporter who becomes jealous and suspicious of Zoe's sudden success at the Washington Herald. She later becomes an ally and even mentor to Zoe when Zoe recommends her for a job at Slugline, a popular freelance internet site.
- Deadpan Snarker: One of the snarkiest and grumpiest characters in the series.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Janine rapidly becomes deeply jealous of Zoe as her star rises. Ultimately, however, they settle into a slightly uncomfortable friendship.
- Intrepid Reporter: Is one, and encourages Zoe to become one.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After Zoe's death and Lucas' inprisonment she correctly figures that by seeking truth or justice she would most likely earn a similar fate for herself, and leaves town.
- The Mentor: Surprisingly, given their initial relationship, she becomes one to Zoe late in Season 1.
- Mirror Character: Janine reveals that like Zoe, she used to sleep with successful men to get inside information for stories, and even had an affair with a Congressman at one point in the past. However, she warns Zoe that a woman can only sleep her way so far up the ladder before she hits a brick wall.
- Put on a Bus: She is scarcely involved in the second season at all before running off and establishing that she wants nothing to do with this anymore.
- The Rival: To Zoe. Later Subverted, after they reach an understanding of one another and decide to become allies.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Zoe is killed, she's scared off by the risks of continuing to investigate the circumstances of Russo's death and decides to leave town.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In-Universe. Janine feels Zoe is this, since she was the top woman reporter before Zoe took the spotlight from her.
Other
Alya
Ayla Sayyad
Played By: Mozhan Marnò
- Intrepid Reporter: An extremely competent reporter and she does not give a fuck if a multi-billionaire threatens her. Unfortunately, she goes too far when she practically attacks Frank at a press conference, resulting in her dismissal from the White House.
Kate
Kate Baldwin
Played By: Kim Dickens
- Closer to Earth: Definitely more than Yates. She may not understand why he considers her comparing her rejected articles to his killed book about Underwoods a blasphemy, but she does understand why no sane politician would want such biography written about himself.
- Intrepid Reporter: Even more so than Ayla, whose place she takes. Furious Underwood chew Seth for "kicking out the pitbull and making way for the dragon".
- Joker Immunity: She notes right to Seth's face that she can pretty much write whatever she wants about Underwood, knowing he won't risk kicking out two female reporters from the same paper.
- Sex for Services: Yes, the next one. She's even willing to sleep with Frank's biographer if that's what it takes.
Yates
Thomas 'Tom' Yates
"I think it may be the best thing I've written in years. It could also be utter and complete shit. But when I can't tell the difference, that's a good sign."
Played By: Paul Sparks
A best selling author who Frank hires to write a novel about his ambitious jobs program called America Works, as part of his official 2016 Presidential run strategy in Season 3. Things get complicated when Yates reveals himself to be more than meets the eye.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Yates has a past of serving as a male prostitute to get more stories and calls his 'addiction' and seems to be unable to understand why on Earth a politician who hired him to write a propaganda book wouldn't want a story about a toxic relationship between him and his wife released instead.
- The Charmer: Yates has ways of getting people to trust him and open up to him in ways they would never do with other people. Even Claire who doesn't trust him at first, submits to his charms and reveals that she has thoughts of suicide to free herself from Frank.
- Hot Consort: With Frank's blessing he becomes this for Claire in season 4.
- Multiple-Choice Past: Regarding the circumstances of creating his first book. First he says that is just a fiction loosely based on a friend's stories, then that he stole said friend's unfinished book after the original author's suicide, and then confesses he is the author after all and it's based on his own experiences as a prostitute.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, he goes by 'Tom', just like Tom Hammerschmidt.
- Sherlock Scan: Because of his past as a male prostitute who listened to many clients life stories, Yates is able to look at people and make accurate guesses about their personal issues. This is the reason Frank fires Yates after reading his official first chapter of his book, because it hit too close to home.
- This Is Unforgivable!: How Yates feels after Frank fired him, just when he discovered how he wanted to write his new book. He makes it clear that he still plans to finish the book somehow at the end of Season 3.
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Write Who You Know: Debated; see Multiple-Choice Past. He's also determined to find the "true axis" of Franks character, much to the latter's, who would like his propaganda book finally ready, annoyance.
