Newspapers, broadcast newsmagazines ... all that can be left is Newsradio.
Set at WNYX, a fictional AM news radio station in New York City, audiences met the madcap station owner and staff the same time as the station's new news director, level-headed Dave Nelson (played by Dave Foley). While Dave turns out to be less naive than his youthful appearance suggests, he never fully gains control of his co-workers. Unlike Miles Silverberg, however, he is experienced enough to recognize it and mature enough to just roll with it.
Beth: Fire him as soon as he walks out that door.
Dave: Excuse me?
Beth: Fire him right here, right now, in front of everyone. Trust me, it will help you down the line. You're not exactly establishing yourself as an authority figure with the staff.
Bill: She's right, you know.
Beth: It's like, you know how they say when it's your first day in prison, you should act crazy and beat someone with a chair so nobody will mess with you?
Dave: I've never actually heard that before, Beth.
As news director, Dave is in an unenviable middle manager sandwich slot, snugly layered between two huge pieces of ham. Subordinate to Dave is the egocentric, eccentric anchorman Evelyn William "Bill" McNeal, played by the brilliant (and late and sorely lamented) Phil Hartman, while Dave is answerable to the egocentric, eccentric Jimmy James, played by the brilliant Stephen Root. The bigger exasperation for Dave is Bill, who takes great delight in showing the Midwestern rookie how it's done.
Bill: You're not in Wisconsin, Dave. The big story isn't about a cow wandering into the town square.
Dave: Bill, I worked in Milwaukee, you know. It's a city with a population of a million people.
Bill: So that must have been quite a hubbub when that cow got loose!
Clearly, Dave knows how to run a newsroom, but he has to work hard to earn any chance to do so.
Dave: Listen up, everybody, this is what we're going to do.
Bill: Standard subway crisis. We know what to do, Dave.
Dave: I didn't know there was a standard procedure for this.
Bill: Oh, sure. We send a reporter to the scene. He asks the transit police if he can go in the tunnel. They say no. He says okay. I go on the air every eight minutes and say "Still no news on that disabled train." Business as usual. Let's do it, people!
Dave: Actually, Bill, if I might, I'd like to try something a little different this time, okay?
Bill: Okay, how about this? Send reporter, transit police, tunnel-no-okay, me on air every seven minutes, blah, blah, blah. Let's do it, people!
Bill never gives an inch, but unlike Murphy Brown's almost malicious pranksterism, Bill's motivation is entirely selfish and absurdist to the point of being childish.
Dave: Have you thought about how this will make you co-workers feel?
Bill: Actually, one of the great things about the cubicle is not having to think about my co-workers at all.
Dave does put his good-boss hat on to help Bill, though -- going so far on one occasion as to kick a coffee addiction while Bill tries to quit smoking.
Dave: I just had no idea that the Patch could have side effects.
Bill: And I had no idea you're only supposed to wear one at a time.
Dave: How many were you wearing?
Bill: Fifteen, sixteen. I sort of stuck them all around my waist like a belt.
The Dave-Jimmy relationship is no less fraught with exasperation for Dave. Jimmy James is a billionaire, yet seems to enjoy micromanaging WNYX and keeping a close eye on Dave.
Jimmy: Dave, you're the boss. You're supposed to be thick-skinned.
Dave: I'm plenty thick-skinned
Jimmy: Oh yeah, I've seen thicker skin on a bowl of pudding. Here, check this out. (Puts his hand above a lit candle.)
Dave: Sir, you really don't have to do that to impress me.
Jimmy: You wanna know the secret?
Dave: Wild guess... thick skin?
Jimmy: Well, metaphysically, yes. Technically speaking, you do it 15, 16 times it kills all the nerve endings in your hand.
Further, Jimmy is seen as a loving father figure by everyone in the office, and often helps his employees learn life lessons.
Jimmy: You're sleeping with the boss now, Lisa. What do you think the staff's gonna feel about that? You know what people think about Yoko Ono.
Lisa: Yes, I do sir.
Jimmy: What about you Dave, you know what they think about Paul McCartney.
Dave: You mean John Lennon.
Jimmy: No, people liked him.
The best thing about Dave as a manager is that he has a keen sense of what he can change about his environment and a keener sense of when he needs to change his own outlook on that environment to keep some level of sanity. This is an invaluable skill to develop, especially in middle management.
Dave: Any inappropriate expenditures will be deducted from your salary in the future.
Beth: That is going too far.
Dave: No, taking a cab to New Jersey and back is going too far.
Beth: That was radio-related business.
Dave: There are plenty of places in Manhattan to buy a radio.
Beth: Dave, it was a 43% off sale. Apparently, the guy who owned the place went crazy and was slashing prices.
Dave: Well I may go crazy and slash paychecks if I see another receipt like that.
To wrap up -- do your best to stay sane and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And now, here are two examples why you don't use cliches like that one to motivate your staff:
Dave: Bill, haven't you ever heard the expression, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"
Bill: Dave, haven't you ever heard the expression, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and then toss it in the face of the person who gave you the lemons until they give you the oranges you asked for in the first place?"
Dave: Have you ever heard the expression that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar?
Bill: Have you ever heard the expression that only a hillbilly sits around figuring out the best way to catch flies?
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