I have to admit, I had high hopes for HBO<\/a>‘s new show The Newsroom<\/a>, but when I saw the trailer<\/a>… I cringed.<\/p>\n

The reviews are still coming in since it debuted tonight, but while discussing it with other journalists over Twitter, I remembered a much better show.<\/p>\n

It’s a relatively unknown Canadian show that debuted 16 years ago… with the same name. (If I recall correctly, legendary The Seattle Times<\/a> photographer Alan Berner<\/a> was the one who told me about it.)<\/p>\n

The Newsroom (1996): Wikipedia<\/a> | IMDb<\/a><\/p>\n

I’d describe it as The Office<\/a>, but in a newsroom… also, it was five years before the original The Office was on the air.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the web, you can buy the show on Amazon<\/a>, rent the DVDs via Netflix<\/a> or… see the entire first season (in pieces) thanks to YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is the first episode… enjoy!<\/p>\n