“The Newsroom” debuted Sunday night on HBO to a chorus of negative reviews. Aaron Sorkin’s show stars Jeff Daniels as a Keith Olbermann-like anchor who is dragged back to the heart of news gathering by an idealistic executive producer (and his ex-girlfriend), played by Emily Mortimer.
Juicy stuff. So why do the critics hate the show so much? The New Yorker called it "artificial intelligence"; The New York Times said the show "chokes on its own sanctimony."
Also read: 'The Newsroom' Review: the Harlem Globetrotters of News, but Pretentious
Wrap editor in chief Sharon Waxman and Howard Kurtz of Newsweek-Daily Beast and The Daily Download, square off on the issue. Sharon thinks journalists don’t like it when Hollywood dabbles in their sandbox.
“This show is getting at the erosion of our values in television journalism and the problems newspapers face with the collapse of their business model. He’s diving into the core issues of what is role of journalism in American society. That should be applauded."
Also read: Ratings: Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' Premiere Beats 'True Blood,' 'Luck' Debuts
Kurtz, who in his review said the show was “stacked with self-obsessed blowhards,” wasn’t buying it:
“Nice try. It didn’t get into great journalistic issues. If he wants to portray the TV business as a snakepit – that is great, but it has to work as television. TV critics hated it not because they’re thin-skinned, but because it didn’t work as television.”
Watch the video, tell us what you think.