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Network made a lot of waves when it was originally shown. It's worth seeing if you haven't seen it already. TCM aired it just last weekend, and its available on Netflix. An aging news anchorman is informed that he is about to be fired due to poor ratings, and he threatens to commit suicide while on the air. This was rewarded with good ratings. His job saved, he is then allowed to go on the air as a “mad prophet of the airwaves” decrying the troubles of his times.
Since his nervous breakdown is rewarded with high ratings, they decide to put on Ahmed Khan, a communist revoloutionary who robs banks. They follow with “Sybil the Soothsayer,” and a host of other people who really shouldn't be on the air. At the time, it was considered over the top satire.
The thing that occurred to me when I watched this Saturday was just how tame it really was. What we have on today is actually worse then the worst-case scenario envisioned in the movie. They couldn't have conceived of a network like FOX News. You can also watch A&E television for stuff by a woman purporting to be a medium, and I would say that network news has degenerated to something far, far worse than what is imagined in the movie.
Today, CNN literally doesn't even directly employ any war correspondents, and almost every real journalist in the country has been fired. Instead they pay millions to a small crew of anchormen who seldom leave the comfort of the studio to actually investigate a story. There is almost nobody left to investigate the veracity of any report that comes in.
Yesterday's over the top satire would be an improvement over today. Nonetheless, it's a fun movie worth watching.