Journalists believe that Americans and American news are missing a sense of integrity.

Journalists are faced with life and death scenarios.

Journalism is an honorable profession.

Journalists are manipulative.

Trust is a fundamental to journalism.

Discussion

The Newsroom script says a lot about how Aaron Sorkin views journalism in America. There is no denying that the witty and intense script creates an entertaining television show that audiences may view as inspiring, yet journalists may view as horrific. Aaron Sorkin makes harsh statements on journalism in his script and almost seems to speak through his characters an idea that real-life journalists need to do better in protecting Americans and in being America's "heroes".

For example, in the first theme, Will's monologue on America and American journalism describes that there is a sense of integrity that is missing in the news media. Similarly, in the third theme, Sorkin has his characters portray what honorable journalism should look like. This can be seen as an attack on modern-day journalists and a counter for how journalists should uphold their duties to society. Alyssa Rosenberg from The Atlantic, explains that, “It's convenient, and partially true, to believe that failure of will and interest contributes to bad journalism in America. It's also wildly insulting to working journalists in all mediums to suggest that they don't want it enough.” (Rosenberg, 2012). Rosenberg's reaction to The Newsroom is a direct correlation to how the criticizing nature of the show affects modern-day journalists. Similarly, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone stated that, "The best joke on The Newsroom is the idea of cable news as a symbol of lost purity," (Sheffield, 2013). These harsh ideas that Sorkin incorporates into his script have the ability to anger modern-day journalists and, in turn, influence audiences. It also leads to the conclusion that real-life journalists fear that their audiences may buy into Sorkin's cleverly integrated messages that tarnish the reputation of a journalist.

There is no doubt that Sorkin knows how to create an entertaining show for his viewers. In the last theme there is an excerpt from scene nine where Hollywood magic seems to take place. A broadcast in which is not scripted and only the executive producer knows what's going on seems possible, yet highly unrealistic. It's these intense, high-energy moments that Sorkin knows will gain the attention of an average audience but that journalists will scoff at. Sorkin hired Ashleigh Banfield, host at CNN, to be a consultant for The Newsroom, and even she stated that, “…there have been a few instances where I’ve winced at the electronic magic that happens on the show that could never be pulled off in a real newsroom.” (Zara, 2015). Banfield also mentioned that Sorkin is a "hopeless romantic", which explains why critics also harp on Sorkin's love of adding romance to his scripts. The Hollywood magic combined with a romantic subplot contributes to the eye-rolls of journalists, because it makes them feel as if there is hardly any realism in The Newsroom at all.

It seems that the issues that journalists have with The Newsroom are this: The Newsroom glorifies the career of a journalist, ridicules the intentions of a journalist, and captures highly unlikely scenarios; all for the sake of viewership and entertainment. As much flack as Sorkin gets for his television show, journalists do seem to acknowledge that Sorkin's portrayal of journalism is, "... at best, a well-intentioned but often-contrived depiction of their industry," (Zara, 2014).

Conclusion