Aaron Sorkin in Fresh Air

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/16/156841165/aaron-sorkin-the-writer-behind-the-newsroom

Aaron Sorkin: The Writer Behind 'The Newsroom'

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On Aaron Sorkin's latest drama The Newsroom, Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) pledges to cover stories because they're important, not because they get ratings.

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July 16, 2012

Aaron Sorkin's new HBO drama The Newsroom follows the inner workings of a fictional cable network trying to challenge America's hyperpartisan 24/7 news culture. It's a typical Sorkin drama, complete with fast-paced dialogue, witty scenes and a strong ensemble cast.

So why a newsroom?

"It suits my style," he tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "I like writing about heroes [who] don't wear capes or disguises. You feel like, 'Gee, this looks like the real world and feels like the real world — why can't that be the real world?' "

In Sorkin's latest fictional world, Jeff Daniels stars as anchorman Will McAvoy, who tackles hard-hitting news stories and calls out those who don't tell the truth. The show follows McAvoy but also pays close attention to the bookers, producers and editors who work behind the scenes to get their nightly broadcast ready for air.

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Aaron Sorkin's work includes A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Charlie Wilson's War and The Social Network.

Before writing the show, Sorkin spent two days on the set of Countdown with Keith Olbermannto get a sense of how a newsroom works. While there, he observed producers getting ready to cover the April 2010 Deepwater Horizonexplosion and got an idea for his own show.

"I realized I could set the show in the recent past," he says. "My big worry was making up the news — writing fictional news — because it was just going to take us too far away from reality. ... But [setting the show in the recent past] became the gift that kept on giving. Because you have the fun of the audience knowing more than the characters. ... I know that this device has bothered some people who think that I'm leveraging hindsight into a way to make my characters stronger. That wasn't the idea."

Reaction to the show has been polarized. Some TV critics have loved the show, while others have said it's sermonizing.

"I think that the critics and the audience who are reacting as hostilely to the show as they are, part of the reason is because they think that I'm showing off an intellect and an erudition that I don't have," says Sorkin. "I'm not pretending to have it. I know that I don't have it. I phonetically create the sound of smart people talking to each other. I'm not one of them.