Busted: HBO Gets Caught Selectively Editing Reviews for ‘The Newsroom’
- Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:30pm by
Erica Ritz
- Print »
- Email »
Jeff Bercovici at Forbes has been somewhat suspicious of the gushing praise Aaron Sorkin’s new show “The Newsroom” appears to be receiving. After all, it has a “distinctly mediocre” score of 57 on Metacritic.com, which aggregates reviews from “all over,” Bercovici explained.
Bercovici continued:
You wouldn’t know that from ads HBO has been running to promote [the show], though. A two-pager that ran in last week’s edition of The Hollywood Reporter, among other places, quotes breathless-sounding praise from The New York Times, Time and Salon, among two dozen outlets. Yet all three of the reviews those blurbs were drawn from were distinctly negative.
The quote from the Times, bannered atop the full width of the spread, reads: “Wit, sophistication and manic energy…A magical way with words…a lot of charm.”
So what did the quote leave out? Just that, “the show chokes on its own sanctimony…suffers from the same flaw that it decries on real cable shows on MSNBC or Fox News,” and that its structural conceit is “probably a mistake.”
Ouch.
Here’s a dramatic trailer for the show, featuring an explanation of why America isn’t the “greatest” country in the world:
Bercovici further notes:
Time’s James Poniewozik, summarizing his views on “The Newsroom” for non-subscribers, flatly declared, “I was not a fan.” Yet the ad makes it sound like he was, burbling, “The pacing is electric…captures the excitement.”
Salon’s Willa Paskin is quoted in the ad calling “The Newsroom” “captivating, riveting, rousing.” Here’s what she actually wrote: “The results are a captivating, riveting, rousing, condescending, smug, infuriating mixture, a potent potion that advertises itself as intelligence-enhancing but is actually just crazy-making.”
This isn’t the first time a network has misrepresented critical reviews to audiences, but HBO isn’t usually put in a position where it has to. Its shows, which have included The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, and Rome, have typically endeared themselves to the public based on their own merit.
Poniewozik, a critic for Time, says he has no recollection of HBO ever pulling such stunts with his reviews before.
“Ironic way to promote a journalism drama,” he added.
(H/T: Newsbusters)
Popular Stories
MSNBC Host Snaps in Heated Segment: ‘What in the World Is Riskier Than Being a Poor Person in America?’ 697 Comments
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 666 Comments
‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’ 525 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 370 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 364 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 244 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 254 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order Read More
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 147 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 300 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 244 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (61)
blue bird000
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:03am? ask them why it is my
Report Post »3rd time to post tv is a mistake
blue bird000
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:00amoh so sorry to speak the truth
Report Post »blue bird000
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:55pmwhen it is all said and set yes beck you will be there in the books as a thief of Jones.
Report Post »Kaoscontrol
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:19amAlex “I’ve seen you hernia, Charlie” Jones is a kook. Anyone who believes Jones when he claims Beck steals from him is at least twice as kooky.
Report Post »BrotherWill
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 7:19amSpeak English much?
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 8:47amWhat in the world is this babbling supposed to mean? It is incomprehensible. Lighten up on the meds.
Report Post »SocialistSlayer
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:53amHe’s a Beck Hater that is apparently not very bright. Of course this should not come as a surprise to anyone! Birddoo just another flaming Pinko Commie!
Report Post »HKS
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:40pmNo, HBO wouldn’t do that, would they? Does that mean Bill Mahar does it as well? I’m crushed.
Report Post »p51d007
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 11:29pmHBO….sorry, don’t pay for it, don’t watch it.
Report Post »sybilll
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:49pmLeftists count on their audience not reading past the headlines, period. Just wander around DU where an outrageous headline is posted, the content of the article is nothing like the headline, yet is spurs vocal outrage from all the DUmmies.
Report Post »ginge
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:55amWe who saw a CNN interview with Dan Rather last week no longer ask why the MSM doesn’t tell us the truth. Dan Rather said “Journalist are selling out.” He revealed that MSM reporters have signed an agreement with Obama’s campaign people that requires them to show all reports about Obama to the campaign for approval before going public.
Report Post »It chills me to hear that we are living under this Fascist regime.
Do you ever wonder why Obama’s poll numbers are staying up in spite of public knowledge of his frauds? It is because poll takers aren’t getting truthful answers to the polling questions. Knowing how his regime is spying on us could we unhesitatingly say we will not vote for Obama?
informedperson
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:52amUnlike the postings by Ginge, here is the truth about “Quote Approval”.
“Essentially, what the Times described was the rapid rise of “quote approval” — a strategy deployed by campaigns requiring reporters to send quotations they intend to use to candidates’ press officers, to be sliced, diced, edited and drained of color or unwanted consequences, and reporters going along, fearing that if they don’t, they won’t get access.”
He continues to say that “a condition for the interview would be that before the reporter could send the story to the editor, he or she would have to agree to submit for approval every quote intended to be used to the campaign press staff.”
At no time did Dan Rather say that “reporters have signed an agreement with Obama’s campaign”. In fact, Mr. Rather was very clear about the fact that both campaigns would require final approval prior to the release of the story. In addition, this practice isn’t new nor is it exclusive to the Obama administration. Mr. Rather explained that “candidates bargaining access to get the kind of news coverage they want is nothing new”. Politicians, celebrities, corporations, athletes, etc. have required the media in general to submit stories, articles, videos, etc. for final approval since the invention of television. And if you didn’t know that Ginge, you are even more ignorant than your post indicates.
This is why, thank God, President Obama will be reelected. When you distort the tru
Report Post »informedperson
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:53amThis is why, thank God, President Obama will be reelected. When you distort the truth, you lose credibility. Stick to the facts. Be informed. Be knowledgeable.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/opinion/rather-quote-approval-reporting/index.html?iref=allsearch
Report Post »Dick Blitskreig
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:05pmHBO sucks now anyways, Showtime Is better then It Is and AMC Is better then both.
Report Post »blue bird000
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:05amstop watchn tv
Report Post »barber2
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:03pm“Breathless- sounding praise from the New York Times ” Bonk. The NYT is the ” Leaker-in-Chief,” the propaganda arm of the Obama Lefties. Let me guess: Newsroom will have an agenda and it will NOT be a pro-conservative / Tea Party / financially l responsible one . ( Heard that the Obama campaign is now spending more than they are taking in ! Sound Democratic behavior ? ) Duh . Bonk.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:46pmHa Ha Ha
Report Post »65Mustang
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:42pmHave never subscribed to HBO but I am not surprised by this recent revelation of anything that promotes the left-wing agenda not being doctored.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:17pmTheir objectives to ruin this country by aiding those who are in power makes them a part of the treason.
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:22pmTreeason! Nazis!!! Children OMG!!
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:16pmJust like the obvious misleading statement about Holmes’ motther saying yest he is the one. Making it look like they described the crimes and she fingered him. People are such liars. They probably just asked if she had a son named James Holmes who lived at that address or did they know one, etc., to make sure she got the message before the news came out.
Just like lying about the Zimmerman insuries and doctoring those tapes. They should be sued. The state of Florida is doing everything they can to convict Zimmerman instead of finding Justice. These people who doctor and dramatize are not journalists. They are yellow journalists and should be fired. They are not keeping an accurate “journal,” as they are distorting and causing public opinion to convict people or free people based on their own political agenda. These people are not worth the paper they eventually concoct. I despise them as much as those they are trying to convict or free. They are just as bad and evil as those who are being written about. I hate a freaking liar.
Report Post »JohnnyRaven
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:15pmAny show that has Jane Fonda on it deserves to fail miserably!!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:50pmFunny … Jeff Daniels lives in the area of Michigan that I am from (even met him early in his career at a friends wedding and acted as an unpaid extra in a movie of his called “Super Sucker”) .. .the local newspaper has been pushing this show almost daily … I knew it was going to have to stink just from listening to the REWRITING of history they were trying to pull off .. here is a search which shows how many articles and time they have wasted pushing this garbage.
http://search.mlive.com/daniels+newsroom
Funny I doubt they will report this .. the MSM is DEAD!
Report Post »I am going to send them a tip .. and bookmark this article for the next time they promote the show. ;-)
CatB
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:00pmHere is the latest promotion .. by and entitiy that USED TO REPORT THE ACTUAL NEWS!
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/07/the_newsroom_-_staff_shows_ple.html
btw .. you can tell a lot about someone by how they treat others .. Daniels is a losey tipper .. usually leaving NOTHING (I know people who have served him food) .. I doubt Fonda is any better ;-)
Report Post »oldchevyguy
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:41pmI certainly agree brother!
Report Post »JohnnyRaven
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:14pmThe KOCH brothers did it!
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:05pmWell imagine that! Who would have thought that a show based on a skewed and biased perspective would edit their ratings?!
Report Post »godhatesacoward
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:02pmHeil Barf Obama
Report Post »Soul Leister
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:56pmProof there is NO INTEGRITY in journalism nor at HBO. They live in their own fantasy world (rewriting history, neck deep in socialist snake oil salemen and bullies).
Report Post »daveposh
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:54pm“We are HBO. The truth left our company, and we are running a muck.”
Report Post »SCREW-WINDOWS
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:45pmPeople still watch HBO ?
Report Post »Try TCM it’s better for the soul.
spirited
Posted on July 24, 2012 at 8:56am@SCREW-WINDOWS Yes, TCM is…… fantastic.
Report Post »HURRICANEPAUL
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:53pmWhat amazes me, is that the Liberal Media, aka “the old media”, still thinks it can purposely doctor 911 tapes and edit out dispariging words from a critic without THE NEW MEDIA finding out.
When are they going to understand that their “game” is over?
Report Post »JohnLarson
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:53pmUhh, what show DOESN’T use only good review snippets in their promos?
How are they “busted” lol?
Report Post »Toltepeceno
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 10:38pmFor one thing these reviews were not good, they were edited to sound that way. There’s a difference in that and just running good reviews.
Report Post »historyguy48
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:50pmComrades, a liberal is lying to you. Shocking! (Not really)
Report Post »forthepeople
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:48pmLuckily in Life ,what comes around goes around . HBO sounds desperate to deliver must be the Maher Karma ?
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:57pmNow I know why I do not subscribe to HBO!
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 9:23pmBill Maher is their editor, so they lie, what???? Saying HBO is creditable is like saying Roseanne Barr looks great in a thong. Both replies get the same response, usually someones lunch on the floor.
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:47pmIf I wanted to see pretend news,I would watch ABC,NBC,CBS, or some free commie propaganda like that.Why pay for HBO and make some champagne socialist commie rich?
Report Post »G man
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:54pmSmokey…LMAO at the truth in that statement.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:43pmThere is no truth or morality left in the show biz game nor the news media. They are bereft of conscience and lying is now an art-form. Quit watching them.
Report Post »G man
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:37pmFinal straw. Cancelled HBO last week. I’ll miss nothing.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:44pmGot rid of it here years ago; no loss to the cosmos.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:48pmTook you long enough. Don’t worry though, your cable provider bundle it with a channel you do want…
Report Post »mayancalendar2012
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:49pmRight with ya bro…I’m a boxing fanatic, and for ten years I paid for HBO so I could see my fights. A year and a half ago I was turned on to a streaming sports sight from Europe, and I immediately cancelled HBO and Showtime. The programming was so left leaning and just plain old raunchy, there wasn’t really anything else I watched besides boxing. Saving some serious money now.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:49pmCongrats G MAN, got rid of HBO about 1996. haven’t looked back since.
Report Post »By the way, NBC must be spreading it’s tail feathers again, and sharing it’s tactics with other organizations. which company will be the next rising student of this propaganda?
kayaM
Posted on July 23, 2012 at 8:52pmI cancelled HBO also and let them know why. It’s a bunch of smut anyway.
Report Post »