Human Lens #7: Broadcast News -Understanding Workplace Friendships

James L. Brooks' masterpiece is my new obsession

It’s hard to ignore the good things you hear about a film starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks, especially when it revolves around the career you work in. The moment I saw that it was added to HBO Max (free ad), I watched it the very same day.

Broadcast News is a celebration of the profession, a deep dive into three specifically well developed characters, and more importantly, an accurate look at the ups and downs that come with workplace friendships and relationships.

Holly Hunter commands the screen, building her character Jane Craig to portray confidence and love for the profession she works in. So much so that she bores the people around her who don’t understand her passion for the craft. They don’t understand her excitement for the mundane, by the numbers news. Seeing television only as a market and a way to draw high numbers of viewers is nowhere close to Jane’s list of importances when it comes to providing the news. To her, honesty and truth are public services, not ideas to meddle with.

Throughout the film, Jane is seen crying on her own, specifically after scenes where she interacts with the men in her life. Albert Brooks’ Aaron Altman is articulate, gels well with Jane’s personality, and, above all other things, really good at his job. On a level of intellect and charisma, Jane and Aaron are perfect for each other. Jane knows this, but has an obvious struggle with the fact that she’s not attracted to him. Despite loving who he is and being a great friend, she can’t see him as anything more than that and she wishes she could change her mind in order to be happy.

The greatest curse of being smart and independent is that the standards set for yourself far outweigh those that others may place on you. It’s the obsessive nature to have things the way you want them but deep down question why you think that way in the first place when there’s a chance you could be happy otherwise.

Entering her life at this strange, emotional, time is William Hurt’s Tom Grunick. Tom openly admits to almost everyone he meets that he’s not the smartest of the bunch. To some people in the film, this vulnerability is enough to be likable. It also helps that he has a very handsome face and demeanor, one certainly made for anchoring television. He’s a man who sells himself short but soon comes to find out that in the industry, he has other tools he can utilize to impress people. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of the system, especially in a time when the system is on the precipice of change.

There’s not enough money in the news at this time. As networks move away from news and towards audience intrigue, Jane attempts to fight for the old ways the best she can. It’s hard to do that though when falling for Tom in the process.

Tom is the embodiment of the change the news industry has on the horizon. Someone that Jane should hate. His pretty face and confidence around women help him to gain more ground than he should in the industry. Because of this, he’s able to kindle a friendship with Jane that anyone in the industry would dream of.

Meanwhile, Aaron is dealing with workplace bias, being reassigned multiple times because of his looks and not his talent. He has to wrestle with his own demons, combined with the fact that he’s not willing to give up his job just yet. Despite the fact that he could get the same job if not a better one at another station, and theoretically be happier, he decides to hold a grudge against Tom instead.

The journey that these three share are those that can be found at any job. Workplace colleagues have an interesting camaraderie. We’re around them all the time, most of the time more often than our families, but we wouldn’t kindle a friendship beyond work talk, or see them outside of work. Sometimes there can be an allure for a romantic relationship, stemming from being around these people all the time, truly getting to know their ticks and idiosyncrasies just from constant observation.

You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and this film is the greatest example of this. In real life, people have to come and go from jobs all the time, sometimes never seeing their coworkers again until years later, or not at all. We spend endless hours, share laughs, and cry together with these people that we’re willing to dump and move on at a moments notice.

It doesn’t seem human to build these relationships and let them fall flat. But where Jane, Tom, and Aaron are concerned, moving on and letting each other follow their own path without the influence of the other was the best for them. At the end of the day it’s just a job. You may not like decisions that are being made or the path that you’re being set on, but you’re not tied to it forever.

At the end of the tunnel there is a light. The moment you stop concerning yourself with what the future holds, it tends to lay out in front of you in a way you’ll look back and be happy with.

Broadcast News tells us to not make sacrifices in order to be happy. It tells us to make sacrifices in the spirit of knowing that happiness is always right around the corner, even in times of heavy sorrow or somber decisions.

While our coworkers may never be our best friends, at least they all know what that sacrifice feels like.