A story that can evoke emotion is a great story, and this is a great story, although sad. I was born in the 1950s, so my formative years were the 1960s and 70s. I grew up watching Walter Cronkite. He was the most trusted man in America.
This episode was about the change in news style more than the space shot. Cronkite gave factual "And that's the way it is." news. Around the time this movie is set, others in the "news" business started changing to a more "touchy-feelie" style of news. And this episode covers that well.
I don't know if Jay Mohr is anything like the character he portrays. He sure seems to play a lot of characters like that. He did a fantastic job playing that character, because it evoked such strong feelings against him. To this day, I won't watch anything he's in because I don't like those types of people.
I want to know that the sky is blue and the grass is green. I could care less what they neighbor thinks about the grass or how the pilot feels about the sky. As Jack Webb is reportedly reputed to say, "Just the facts."
If you want to know how the news changed into a touchy feelie style, this show's for you.