I've seen the first couple of episodes of Aaron Sorkin's new show, The Newsroom, and I'm really enjoying it. Not his best work by a mile, but still smart, engaging television. The creator of the show, and Oscar winning screenwriter, has taken a lot of criticism for the show - from some quarters - and has now aimed some attacks at one of his own targets - Fox News.
Sorkin was speaking to Metro and spewed, "I think, in America, Fox News is the worst culprit but the best depends on what hour of the day it is. My problem with Fox is not the Republican aspect - the 'redness' of it - my problem with Fox is, I think, that it lies. They consistently mislead their viewers." He added, "A recent poll showed that Fox News viewers are less informed than people who don't watch any news at all.On the day the US invaded Iraq, 67% of Americans thought the country had been attacked by Iraq on 9/11." He did have some kind words for the BBC however, saying "I was in London during Hurricane Katrina and watched the BBC news coverage. That was the first time I ever really watched news about America at length while away in a foreign country. I could not believe the difference in the coverage compared with US news - it was night and day. The BBC is fantastic and, saying this doesn't make me a member of al-Qaeda, so is Al Jazeera."
Jeff Daniels is fantastic in the show, and It's already been green-lit by HBO for a second season. It's broadcast on Sky Atlantic on this side of the pond every Tuesday at 10.00pm.