The Top 11 Modern Fictional Journalists
While not as popular as cops or lawyers or doctors or guys who buy other people's stuff at storage auctions, journalists make for entertaining characters on TV and in the movies.
While real journalism isn't as exciting and thrilling in real life, these journalists make real journalists look good (even if their dashing good looks make us look like grotesque freaks at the same time). They give journalists a good name.
We specifically choose "good" journalists - the ones who stand up for journalist integrity and justice and do their best to not sleep with their sources. (Perhaps a list of the worst fictional journalists is warranted.) Oh, and characters based on real journalists don't count.
Here's our list of the Top 11 Modern Fictional Journalists:
William Miller / "Almost Famous"
Write for "Rolling Stone" magazine while still in high school? This kid lived the dreams of every aspiring music writer.
Murphy Brown / "Murphy Brown"
Long before Katie Couric anchored the CBS Evening News there was Murphy Brown. Despite being fictional, Brown proved women could handle the anchor desk just as well as men.
Mikael Blomkvist / "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Whether you're talking about Daniel Craig from the David Fincher U.S. movie or Michael Nyqvist from the original Sweden version, they both proved that journalists can be action heroes. Not only did Blomkvist launch a successful investigative magazine, but he overcame false defamation charges and brought down a powerful and corrupt business tycoon.
Henry Hackett / "The Paper"
In 1994's "The Paper" Michael Keaton portrays the modern metro editor. Budget meetings, dealing with journalists who don't pick up their pagers, worried about getting scooped by the competition, turning down a higher-paying job because you're in love with your metro daily - all in a day's work.
Phil / "Groundhog Day"
Sure he treats his producer and cameraman with disrespect and sure he's preoccupied with climbing the corporate ladder but Phil (no last name given) is the model of efficiency. Having cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney for several years in a row, Phil knows exactly where to stand and what to say to cover the assignment. Plus, we had to get Bill Murray on the list somehow.
Augustus "Gus" Haynes / "The Wire"
Augustus "Gus" Haynes, editor of the Baltimore Sun city desk, is the editor every metro reporter wished they had. He has principles, he defends his reporters, and he loves journalism. He makes the list dispute saying the most cliché journalism saying of all time: "If it bleeds, it leads." Ugh.
Cal McAffrey / "State of Play"
First of all, who doesn’t want to be Russell Crowe? McAffrey is represents every begrudged old-school reporter in every newsroom filled with bloggers and reporters busy tweeting. McAffrey proves you can still do investigative reporting without knowing what the f*ck a hashtag is.
Kent Brockman / "The Simpsons"
For at least 24 years, Kent Brockman has been the trusted news anchor for Channel 6 in Springfield. Every local news has a Brockman – an anchor who has helmed the 6 p.m. news for decades. Brad Bird, designed Brockman after anchorman Ted Koppel.
Will McAvoy / "The Newsroom"
Why can't more real-life anchors be like McAvoy?
April O'Neil / "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
Talk about protecting the identity of your sources. Reporter O'Neil is friends with four giant talking turtles who fight crime but has managed to shield their identities. Though, we need to talk about the yellow jumpsuit.
Channel 4 News Team / "Anchorman"
"I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal."
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