The New Yorker review seemed a little harsh, but also summed up some of my feelings with the show. As Strummergirl says it seems to be episodes 3 and 4 that the critics who haven't liked it really have issue with. Nussbaum, who I personally find to be one of the better TV critics writing, wrote in The New Yorker:
"The pilot of The Newsroom is full of yelling and self-righteousness, but its got energy, just like The West Wing, Sorkins Sports Night, and his hit movie The Social Network. The second episode is more obviously stuffed with piety and syrup, although theres one amusing segment, when McAvoy mocks some right-wing idiots. After that, The Newsroom gets so bad so quickly that I found my jaw dropping. The third episode is lousy (and devolves into lectures that are chopped into montages). The fourth episode is the worst. There are six to go." (
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2012/06/25/120625crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=all)
I'm gonna stick with it, at least for a while. Like Nussbaum mentions, she stuck with the fascinating mess of Studio 60--and so did I. And it probably will get renewed for a second season if ratings stay relatively strong next week as well, which seems to be how HBO works, but colour me disappointed so far.