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Are we rolling? The Top 10 broadcast journalism movie women of all time

This article comes to us from our friend Will Pulos over at NewNowNext!

Whether they’re trying to balance love and career, reporting and sensationalism, or a stack of papers and a venti coffee (extra black), broadcast journalism movie ladies have brought us fast-paced entertainment for years. These women know what’s important. They’re willing to risk it all for a big story. When that camera is rolling and America is watching, they know it’s go big or pack up those shoulder pads, and go home.

With the DVD release of Morning Glory this week, it only seemed appropriate to take a look back at the memorable movie characters who have servied us the news honey over the last 30 years or so. So finish up that chapter in Audition, resolve that lingering tension with your co-anchor, and give your cab driver directions to get home extra fast, because we’ve got a show to do. [CUE THEME MUSIC]

This James L. Brooks film may be the standard bearer by which all broadcast journalism lady films can be measured. Holly Hunter plays Jane Craig, a network news producer based in Washington who loves the news. I’m talking, power-walking-every-morning-to-buy-seven-newspapers loves the news. She eventually becomes caught in a love triangle between William Hurt and Albert Brooks, two male reporters on her newscast. The best things about this movie is Joan Cusack‘s hair while she’s running, a cameo by Jack Nicholson, and Holly Hunter constantly bursting into tears. Oh, and it’s one of the best romantic comedies ever. I BURIED THE LEDE.

QUESTION: What would you do if you were an upstart news reporter and your first boss was Robert Redford? ANSWER: You would use him to further your serious news career while simultaneously falling in love with him. That’s basically what Michelle Pfeiffer‘s character, Tally Atwater, does in Up Close and Personal. This movie is basically A Star Is Born in a news room. Way too much of the movie is set in a prison during an inmate riot, but other than that it’s pretty good. Up Close and Personal also has the added plus of including that Celine Dion song “Because You Loved Me.” Broadcast Journalism ladies + easy listening soft rock = a match made in pantsuit heaven. Now whenever you hear this song you can think of Robert Redford singing it to you while you’re sporting an early ’90s bob.

Wow. Is this Nicole Kidman‘s best film or is it? In broadcast journalism lady movies, if you desperately want to break into the industry it either means you are “inspirational” or a “ruthless, conniving slut.” Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne Stone in this film, is definitely the latter. Suzanne desperately wants to be a world famous news anchor. When her husband asks her to take some time off from a local weather girl job to focus on their family, she does what any career-minded girl would do, she gets rid of him. Suzanne eventually gets what’s coming to her in the end, but not before that chasing her broadcast television dreams until the very last frame. That’s dedication.

Bridget Jones is undeniably one of the best movie characters of all time. From her self-deprecating humor to her constant uphill battles with life, she constantly inspires. Who hasn’t had one of those nights where all you can do is smoke a couple fags, drink an entire bottle of wine, and listen to a Celine Dion album. (Fact: Broadcast journalism ladies love Celine Dion almost as much as they love shoulder length haircuts.) When Bridget (Renee Zellweger) quits her job after a messy break-up with her boss, she finds redemption (well, kind of) as a television journalist. With the help of Colin Firth, she scores a big interview and climbs her way to the top. I think I need to start keeping a diary.

Sarah Jessica Parker plays unlucky talk show host Natalie Lake in this darkly comedic parody of science fiction B movies directed by Tim Burton. After Martians arrive on Earth promising they come in peace, they start pretty much murdering everything in sight. This is much more entertaining than the prison riot scene in Up Close and Personal. Unfortunately, poor Natalie gets stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time while reporting at one of the alien landings. She gets abducted, and her head is switched with her pet Chihuahua. Hey, no one said broadcast journalism was easy, did they? [See Above: No. They Didn’t.]

Is Courtney Cox‘s Gale Weathers the best character in the entire Scream franchise? If not, she definitely ranks pretty high. Gale is a tabloid reporter who has a long history with the protagonist of the films, Sidney Prescott, after accusing her of lying about her mother’s death. Throughout the horror series, she manages to both report on the murders while also saving others and avoiding being killed herself. Multitasking is very important for a career in broadcast journalism. Also, who could forget Parker Posey playing an actress playing Gale in Scream 3. “What are you doing?? BEING GALE WEATHERS” and “My agent liked that” are lines that anyone can easily, and should, work into every day conversation. We’ll have to stay tuned to see what happens to Gale in Scream 4.

The 1976 film Network is a biting satire of network news, and its never-ending quest for higher ratings. When news anchor Howard Beale has a breakdown on air, the television channel’s executives decide to keep him in front of the camera and the station’s ratings soar. One of the executives who make this decision is Diana Christensen played by Faye Dunaway. The only thing more cutthroat then Faye Dunaway in this movie, are Faye Dunaway’s blouses in this movie. This is a Programming Executive who knows how to fit some 1970s tailoring into her busy decision-making news days, ok? Dunaway won an Academy Award for her performance in this film, and you definitely don’t want to miss it. “Is that clear?”

One of the funniest movies of the last 20 years, Drop Dead Gorgeous is about a beauty pageant in the small town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, and the lengths that one of the contestants’ mother (played by Kirstie Alley) and her daughter will go to win. The innocent counterpoint to their ruthlessness is Amber Atkins, a beautician at the local funeral home who just wants to follow the example of her role model, Diane Sawyer. Through a series of events, Amber is able finally land a job on a local Minneapolis-St. Paul television station, and the loveable Kirsten Dunst gets the happy ending she deserves. You betcha.

This “film that launched a thousand catch phrases” stars Will Ferrell as a news anchor in the 1970s threatened by a new female colleague. That colleague is Christina Applegate, who knows how to work some bell-bottoms. In addition, she has one of the best broadcast journalism lady names ever: Veronica Corningstone. Per usual, Veronica gets a bit carried away by her unquenchable thirst to read a teleprompter while being filmed, but luckily it all works out in the end.

Which bring us to Morning Glory. This adorable film was released last year, and features Rachel McAdams as Becky Fuller, a television news producer who just really loves producing. Like, it gives her as much fulfillment as her crackberry addiction and running in heels. Meanwhile, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton play a pair of anchors who struggle to get along on the air and off. In fact, this movie incorporates themes from many past Broadcast Journalism Lady Movies. Becky has Holly Hunter‘s love of news in Broadcast News, goes through a career rebound similar to Bridget Jones, and oversees a newscast makeover like in Network. However, Morning Glory has something none of these movies have. That thing is Rachel McAdams.

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