By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:18 EST, 20 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:47 EST, 20 July 2012 . The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels has giving a stinging assessment of America's attitude to important current affairs. The 57-year-old actor plays the anchorman in the new HBO Aaron Sorkin drama series. He told CBS News today: 'I think there are many [messages on the . show.] However, one of them, specific to that, is that I don’t think . we’re informed anymore as a country.' Uninformed: Actor Jeff Daniels thinks the American electorate need to pay more attention to the news . 'I think we have the attention span of a . gnat. You know, with cell phones and Twitter.... we don’t know as much . as we need to know.' The controversial show, dubbed a 'lefty gas-cloud' by Fox News, has been a lightning rod for conservative critics since it debuted June 24. He continued: 'Especially in a presidential election, when there’s a lot more marketing of political candidates going on than actual stances on issues, it seems. 'I think the American electorate should work a little harder at getting informed. That includes hearing, truly listening, to what the other side is saying. Whether you’re left or right....start paying attention.' All star cast: The show also stars big names from film and television . The series, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News channel, also stars Sam Waterston and British actors Emily Mortimer and Dev Patel. Daniels, who has starred in cult films like Terms of Endearment, Something Wild and Dumb and Dumber, plays news anchor Will McAvoy who rejects the industry's ratings-driven norms to reclaim journalism. Despite fair ratings, the show has been labelled a flop by critics leading to show creator Sorkin has reportedly fired the entirety of the show's writing staff last week in anticipation of season two. Lightening rod: The show has been heavily criticised since it debuted . But in a May interview with Vanity Fair, Sorkin admitted that his eight-person writing staff didn't actually do much writing in the first season. 'I create these shows so that I can write them,' he said. 'I’m not an empire builder. I’m not interested in just producing. All I want to do is write. I came up as a playwright - writing is something you do by yourself in a room' 'That said, I couldn’t possibly write the show without that room full of people. I go in there, and we kick around ideas. I’m writing about all kinds of things I don’t know anything about. So they do research for me.' Dumbing down: Daniels also starred in cult movie Dumb and Dumber .
The Newsroom creator Aaron Sorkin sacks 'writing staff for season two'
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:18 EST, 20 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:47 EST, 20 July 2012 . The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels has giving a stinging assessment of America's attitude to important current affairs. The 57-year-old actor plays the anchorman in the new HBO Aaron Sorkin drama series. He told CBS News today: 'I think there are many [messages on the . show.] However, one of them, specific to that, is that I don’t think . we’re informed anymore as a country.' Uninformed: Actor Jeff Daniels thinks the American electorate need to pay more attention to the news . 'I think we have the attention span of a . gnat. You know, with cell phones and Twitter.... we don’t know as much . as we need to know.' The controversial show, dubbed a 'lefty gas-cloud' by Fox News, has been a lightning rod for conservative critics since it debuted June 24. He continued: 'Especially in a presidential election, when there’s a lot more marketing of political candidates going on than actual stances on issues, it seems. 'I think the American electorate should work a little harder at getting informed. That includes hearing, truly listening, to what the other side is saying. Whether you’re left or right....start paying attention.' All star cast: The show also stars big names from film and television . The series, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News channel, also stars Sam Waterston and British actors Emily Mortimer and Dev Patel. Daniels, who has starred in cult films like Terms of Endearment, Something Wild and Dumb and Dumber, plays news anchor Will McAvoy who rejects the industry's ratings-driven norms to reclaim journalism. Despite fair ratings, the show has been labelled a flop by critics leading to show creator Sorkin has reportedly fired the entirety of the show's writing staff last week in anticipation of season two. Lightening rod: The show has been heavily criticised since it debuted . But in a May interview with Vanity Fair, Sorkin admitted that his eight-person writing staff didn't actually do much writing in the first season. 'I create these shows so that I can write them,' he said. 'I’m not an empire builder. I’m not interested in just producing. All I want to do is write. I came up as a playwright - writing is something you do by yourself in a room' 'That said, I couldn’t possibly write the show without that room full of people. I go in there, and we kick around ideas. I’m writing about all kinds of things I don’t know anything about. So they do research for me.' Dumbing down: Daniels also starred in cult movie Dumb and Dumber .
plays the anchorman in the new HBO Aaron Sorkin writing staff last week in anticipation of season