#SeriesInFocus: 'The Newsroom' is neither a drama nor an editorial
In recent years, 'The Newsroom' has graduated to become one of the most talked about shows around the globe. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the mind behind 'The West Wing' and 'Social Network', the show released in 2012 and ended in 2014, after just three seasons. Revolving around the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel, the show tells what happens before news reaches viewers.
An anchor and his producer become a formidable pair
At the center of this drama is Will McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels), a grumpy anchor who gave too much importance to ratings. He realizes his love for news only when his ex-girlfriend MacKenzie McHale (essayed by Emily Mortimer) returns as his producer, after a hiatus. A showdown later, the two reunite to get the job done, with a lot of drama.
Bunch of people, who are crazy for news, deliver results
Other members of the cast also lend energy to the plot. We have Dev Patel as Neal Sampat, who handles Will's blog and wants to mix technology with the news. There's Olivia Munn as Sloan Sabbith, a Ph.D. holder who hosts economic segment, Thomas Sadoski as Don Keefer, a straightforward but somehow insecure producer, and Sam Waterston as Charlie Skinner, the President of ACN.
In terms of energy, reel and real newsroom are same
While critics argue real journalists rarely talk like the cast members, they do work like them. There isn't much of a difference between reel and real newsroom in terms of energy. How Mac's team works behind a story, is how journalists do. A lot of running and shouting happens, and a lot of calls are made. The goal is to deliver the correct news as soon as possible.
The newsman at the center gets the best lines
It would be safe to say that Sorkin kept the wittiest lines for McAvoy. In the first episode, McAvoy gives a truthful tirade highlighting America's failures. He begins his searing monologue by saying, "It's not the greatest country in the world!", stunning audience and evoking an ovation at the end of it. Throughout the series, McAvoy displays the same momentum, delivers the best lines during his debate, becomes a leader when the team is down and tries hard to remain impartial.
ACN is fictional, the news they deal with isn't
The genre of 'The Newsroom' is drama and it delivers just that by mixing real-life incidents. The journalists in the show deal with everything from Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the death of Osama bin Laden. However, the handling of the latter in a quixotic fashion puts them in hot waters, but the team sticks together through it all.
It gives few of the most important lessons of journalism
Of course 'The Newsroom' isn't the learning school of journalism, but it fishes out few of the most important lessons. It explains why journalists shouldn't take out snippets from an interview and run it just because it suits their political agenda, or why shouldn't sources be revealed. But the most remembered lesson is this: News doesn't pronounce a person dead, the doctors do.
Critics don't love 'The Newsroom', doesn't mean you can't
'The Newsroom' is unabashedly idealistic and sometimes the editorial ideas trump the fact that it is essentially a drama. Which is why the third season seems boring. But the faults are too few as compared to the strengths of the show, hence it is a must-watch.
