While some of the initial criticism of Aaron Sorkin’s return to TV may have been warranted at the start of the season, I’m truly baffled by the continued badgering the HBO drama has received. The complaints came from all angles: It’s too preachy, it’s too talky, it’s too soapboxy…

My take? It seems to me that most TV critics took offense to “The Newsroom” because parts of it hit too close to home. Blasphemous? Perhaps. There’s no denying that most mass media companies (like the fictitious Atlantis Cable Network) do struggle daily with the notions of covering such events as Anthony Weiner’s infamous Twitter crotch shot. The show does a valid job of attempting to answer the question: Do we cover the news or merely what people want to watch or read?

As a fan who just happens to work in a newsroom, I can’t help but raise my glass to HBO and Sorkin for delivering a mostly-entertaining show that, in broad strokes, delved into that very notion above.
After all, many of those “serious journalists” who condemn the ideals of Sorkin’s newsroom don’t have to wallow in the shallow end of the pond by stooping so low as to cover the circus that was Casey Anthony or dare we say, the birth of Snooki’s baby. Right?

Here’s four reasons why “The Newsroom” works:
JEFF DANIELS: Who knew that this thesp-for-hire had so much bottled up charisma? As the anchor for the Atlantis Cable News’s flagship show “News Night,” Will McAvoy is both obnoxious, uncertain and noble. Daniels (who just may be channeling Fox’s Bill O’ Reilly or liberal commentator Keith Olbermann) brings an earnest charm with a roguish flair. The more he’s on, the more the show shines.

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