The Character Of Mackenzie Mcshele In The Show The Newsroom

Mackenzie McHale, a main character on the show The Newsroom, plays an integral role as Will McAvoy’s executive producer at ACN. Mackenzie, being an intense, caring, and passionate person, intervenes in the lives of other characters to encourage their growth and development. Since she views herself as a very determined individual, Mac utilizes her vast array of knowledge and her quick wit to outsmart anyone and face all of the challenges and pitfalls that come with running a fast-paced news show. However, she is not infallible, and occasionally she reveals the quiet storm of doubt, guilt, and frustration boiling beneath the surface of her confident exterior.
One main focus of the show is Mackenzie’s relationship with Will which highlights her …show more content…
From the very beginning of the season she is depicted as someone with concern for how the news is broadcasted and she wants to change it for the better. Her interactions with Jim Harper and Neal Sampat best reflect this. When Jim gives up thirty minutes with Mitt Romney while on the campaign trail, Mac chews him out for it. Part of doing good news is getting to the big story breaks before anyone else and she tells him that he should know better than to miss an excellent opportunity like that just to impress a girl he likes. She has been working with Jim for a while and has a sibling-like relationship with him. This causes her to cut Jim less slack when it comes to making ridiculous missteps that cost a breaking news story since she is aware that he knows and understands how the new works. MacKenzie does not take Neal seriously in his pursuit of the Occupy Wall Street story because he never has all of the necessary information coherently together before he runs the story by her. When she goes to poke holes in his reporting there are important questions that Neal does not have adequate answers to if any answer at all. Reporting news the right way requires good source material, enough knowledge of the subject to answer basic questions, and knowing the leaders and/or experts in the field who can answer the more complex questions. MacKenzie has a majority of these skills in her arsenal since she has been in news for years while Neal has been running Will McAvoy’s blog. Neal’s reporting is not dense enough with facts so Mac has no problems tearing his coverage apart and pointing out to him that he needs to improve quickly if she will ever be able to give credence to his story of interest. However, MacKenzie recognizes the stark contrast between their levels of expertise and cuts Neal some slack here and there so that he can pursue the story