‘The Newsroom’ Reminds the Difference Between Fact and Truth

Do you like the TV show 'The Newsroom'? Here is an writing that one of our members wrote on it. She loves the show and she wants to share what she thought on this TV show. If you like the Korean TV show 'Pinocchio', you will like this more. Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome!

‘The Newsroom’ Reminds the Difference Between Fact and Truth

Yunzee Kim

Graduated from Dongseo University

Broadcasting and Media Studies

“He got knocked down!” (The Newsroom, Season 3 Episode 1)

This is what Charlie (Atlantis Cable News, aka ACN, president) said when he saw that CNN admitted that the earlier report on the Boston Marathon explosion was wrong. It gets staff at ACN-the imaginary station in this TV show- more nervous and cautious since it alarms the importance of reporting facts to them. CNN broadcasted in a rush and did not check the contents of the reports and it lost many viewers who expected it to be trust-worthy. From then, ACN starts to focus more on fact check for more accurate reports on the explosion.

This story, in the Newsroom, reminds me that media can remain faithful only when they deliver accurate and trust-worthy news. Actually, this accuracy is important not only for the stations’ sake but also for the people who could be influenced by the news. Sometimes, when inaccurate reports go out, troubles happen.

The recent Korean TV Drama, Pinocchio, is a good example of this. There is a fire accident and a rescue team goes inside and they all die for a huge explosion. All bodies of the rescue team are found but one body, the chief of rescue team, is missing. Then, a man witnessed someone who looks like the chief. This man, who insists on what he witnessed, actually has Pinocchio Syndrome, which indicates someone who cannot lie. (Of course, this syndrome is made up!) Due to his testimony, all media starts to blame the chief. He is the one who gets the rescue team in danger. Harsh reports on the chief impact his family and the family gets crushed and the wife commits suicide.

These two stories in The Newsroom and Pinocchio force me to think of my definition of the difference between the fact and the truth. In my opinion, since a fact is what is shown exactly, it is objective. On the other hand, since truth can be concluded by all facts and people who connect several facts to one truth, it could be subjective. Therefore, in this process, media takes an important role of fact-check to reveal what is a truth behind an incident. If media takes it seriously, I am sure it could have good influence on the public and it would get faith from viewers.

Now, I want to ask you “To you, what is the difference between the fact and the truth?”