Tuesday, September 11, 2012

In defense of "The Newsroom"

I don't understand why some shows are just SO good and either no one watches them or no one appreciates them. I've had a lot of loves that have been cancelled or hated on. "Veronica Mars", "Dollhouse", "Fringe", just to name a few. Most of those shows were at least pretty well liked, but no one watched them. Now "The Newsroom" everyone seems to really dislike (though it did get picked up for another season so I guess enough people watched it). In case you haven't seen the show, it focuses on a fake television channel called ACN (Atlantic Cable News) and the team that produces the 9:00 pm news on the fake channel. The writers, producers, and anchors attempt to "cut the crap out of the news" and start attempting to inform people on what really matters. The show discusses real issues and then handles them as they see fit. For example, instead of covering the Casey Anthony trials, they choose to discuss voter registration because they feel that this is more important to Americans. This seems noble, but perhaps a little heavy handed, I know. When I saw the trailer I assumed drama, and it is- but it's actually more than that. It's more like a stage production- things are over-the-top. There are shouting matches that would probably never happen in such a professional setting, people trip over things, cry too much, laugh too much, there's a lot of romance, and there's the news. So maybe it's a little over the top, but it's also A LOT of fun.

I suppose people maybe dislike the show because when politics comes up, everyone thinks their opinion is the right one. People from both sides of the political spectrum have accused the show of its views. There are also a lot of people who believe that it's not serious enough, that people reporting on such serious topics should be just that. They wouldn't be falling all over each other or bringing their dates to the newsroom. But I LOVE the show. It makes me laugh and cry. I love just how crazy Mackenzie is and how dry Will is. Sloan is adorable, smart, and irritating all at the same time. I also enjoy how passionate everyone is. It's fun to watch people really love their jobs and take them to heart. The show has  flaws, sure, most shows do. And yes, it's a little high strung and full of it's self. After all, it's about changing the news for the better. Everyone on the show believes that they can make an enormous difference in the lives of Americans simply by doing their jobs well. We tend to laugh at those people. But the thing is, wouldn't it be great if we did actually report the news? if it wasn't about the weather or a stupid thing some politician tweeted? What if we learned the facts and then made our own decisions. What if everyone in America was 100% informed about what was really going on. And what if we made a show about this once a week for one hour and added some really great romantic triangles just for fun? That would probably be a good thing.


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