The Newsroom Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

First let me say this up-front: The Newsroom is an idealization of what the news ought to be in the Internet age. In this series, Sorkin essentially rewrites how the major stories of the day (BP oil spill, the financial crisis, the assassination of Osama bin Laden) ought to have been reported. And (even though he does give Will a conservative thought or two) Sorkin writes about these and other issues from a liberal perspective. So that’s one problem. The other is that he never really comes to grips with how a news organization is supposed to make money in the Internet age where everyone has a voice. (As you can readily see because you are reading these pearls of wisdom on an Internet site.) And when Newsroom does try to tackle the whole money question it fails rather miserably. Lucas (the billionaire who buys the Atlantis Cable News and tries to make it into something a kind of over-the-top Fox is treated with the utmost disdain. But then the old billionaire-owner (Leona) didn’t get much sympathy when she merely tried to use her news network for political influence. So, money (or rather the need to make a profit) is not an issue that is treated with any seriousness here. This is an idealistic series.

Having said that (and there are a lot of criticisms that can be and have been leveled at Newsroom fairly and perhaps not as fairly), it is an absorbing show. I think there are two reasons for that. First of all, while it definitely has a liberal bias, it is not a blindly liberal bias. There are several characters (Will is a good example) of conservative points of view. The show side-steps the whole GOP infighting by having Will bemoan how his party is being hijacked by the Tea Party (and who thereby lower news standards) but he does express what are legitimate conservative concerns about the GOP and the world at large. But more than that, the characters on the show are all to a greater or lesser degree deeply flawed and deeply committed. And as a result, they both exemplify the forces that are tearing us apart right now and, at the same time, because they are forced to work together (and hence talk to one another) in order to produce this one show, they somehow find exactly the right response to any story as it happens.

Their responses to the oil spill and Osama bin Laden perhaps encapsulates this better than anything. That, and the really good acting made me sit and root for the characters. And it kept me watching.

And yes I know all the criticisms. It’s liberal; in real life they would have gone off air in a heartbeat because really who watches actual news anymore? Etc. But a part of me rejects that. Because wouldn’t it be nice if I could turn on the news and get the Newsroom?

And until we do… well, there’s the show.

– Inna Tysoe

WHAT THIS SHOW DOES IS AWESOME!!!! THIS IS WHAT I THINK: I want this in real life!!! I want people everywhere to want this in real life. I want information to be free from government and big business manipulation like it was ALWAYS meant to be. I want the people of the US of A to be informed with facts about issues that are worth reporting! STOP DUMBING US DOWN! I’m tired of hearing about “famous people” and their lives and how they are doing good things or bad things. I am exhausted with “news” shows being filled with advertisements on the supposed greatest new product and calling it news! I’m just plain tired of one of the US’s greatest assets, TRUTH IN INFORMATION & FREEDOM OF PRESS being bought and payed for in the attempt to make or keep American’s stupid. I am tired of agendas and cooperations deciding what I should or should not want to know about. However, I also want journalist to understand that, just because they get information about this thing or that thing, they don’t always have to air it. What the Have To Do is CONSIDER it! I want them to examine it, reflex on it and Consider why it should or shouldn’t be aired. Would this particular information benefit the PUBLIC, Would the Public decide that they should know the particular piece of information.? I want Media to REALLY consider why they are doing the job they are doing.I loved it when the show said that this “career” shouldn’t be a Career but a CALLING! I want the people and/or corporations that own media to find their moral and ethical compass. I want them all to realize that they too have an undeniable responsibility to report the news and to not use the news to line their pockets! From My Soap Box – Erin

– 808 Kinau

The Newsroom starring Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer is an excellent, well balanced serious drama written by the great Aaron Sorkin. This is a really unique show and I came to love it! If you are into journalism, investigations, and real world events, this is the show for you! I really love how they rehash some of the previous years most important and impactful stories such as Deep Water Horizon, the Tea Party, the Arab Spring, and Fukushima Nuclear Plant and tell the story like it should have been told in hindsight. By showing how the news should be responsibly reported, it gives you a greater appreciation for journalism. This is an excellent show, that everyone should watch.

– Honey and Tom

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston
Producers: Aaron Sorkin, Scott Rudin, Alan Poul
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital-Plus 2.0)
Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Number of discs: 4
Studio: HBO Studios
DVD Release Date: June 11, 2013
Run Time: 725 minutes