The Romantic Side of Television Media

The film Broadcast News tells the story of a love triangle that becomes complicated as conflicts arise. It is a rom-com film with a twist at the end which I found unforeseen; it’s not your typical love story. Jane Craig, a producer of a TV network division in Washington, believes that a news story should be covered by someone who is experienced and qualified for the job. Now, Craig is torn between Aaron Altman, her best friend and colleague, and Tom Grunick, a novice in the news industry as they both show that they have feelings for her. Altman is the “better reporter” and confessed his love for her while Grunick is the one who lacks experience yet has the looks. It may seem like there is an obvious winner to her heart but like I said, it is not your typical love story.

The setting of the film is in a TV newsroom unlike the previous films which were set in newspaper newsrooms. Now, in the film, I noticed that they operate differently as they use different mediums of presenting news. The differences tell us how the newsrooms function as well as its staff. First, both newsrooms have the reporters behind the scene. However, in a television newsroom, there is a face amidst all the reporters and chances are that this person does not even write the news. This person is known as the news anchor. Basically, he is the face of the news in the film. Second, in a TV newsroom, everything is done live and if you make a mistake, it is harder to cover it up. An editor may be able to edit it out but it can be pressuring. Meanwhile, a newspaper newsroom can edit out unnecessary details in their stories or even reprint the whole newspaper if possible like in The Paper. Finally, a TV newsroom and a newspaper newsroom have different ways of communication. In a newspaper newsroom, everyone is facing one person or another so that you can confirm facts and ask advice from colleagues. On the other hand, people are more onto their own and only consult someone if needed in a TV newsroom. From my perspective, I barely got to see any group discussions in the film because it was usually between two people.

Experience plays an important role in this film. Craig is particular on the people who deserve the title of being a newscaster because she believes that it should be given to someone fit for the job. Now, going back to the two people whom she is torn, Altman was more experience as he knows what he’s doing as a news reporter. He had done field work and makes “good” news reports. However, once he is on camera, he does not exactly exude the confidence and charisma seen in news anchors. On the other hand, Grunick exudes just that which explains how he was hired so soon. Despite his lack of experience, he had the looks and attitude. However, the moment he became news anchor, it did not sit well with Altman and Craig. In his defense, he was willing to learn with the help of Craig and he did. Later on, Craig finds out that he broke the ethics in journalism by forcing a reaction and editing it in to make it more dramatic. Craig was distraught once she found out the truth. Although she may have an obsession to making it to television, she wants to do it morally right and not by fabricating lies or reactions just to make a news story seem better.

I learned that it is important to take note of deadline in writing a story. Time is gold in this case. In the film, there was a scene when the producer worked it out with the videotape editor to finish a news report that was to appear on the evening news in 52 seconds. It was quite the ride seeing how they had to do everything in the small time frame. I also realized that because of deadlines, people are work twice as faster and are more efficient given the limited amount of time they have to work with. I also learned that when writing stories, the news story should stand out and be supported by interviews and footage of important people. Altman may not have been a news anchor but as a news reporter, he knew his job well which is why he ended up being moving to Oregon because of a job opportunity. He was flexible and I think that characteristic makes a reporter distinct because he or she can report on various kinds of news.