About Newsradio:
NewsRadio is set at WNYX, a New York all-news radio station.
The owner of WNYX, Jimmy James, is an eccentric billionaire who loves to meddle in the affairs of the staff. Dave Nelson, station manager for most of NewsRadio's run, is the calm focal point for the station. The rest of the staff is made up of: on-air reporters Catherine Duke, Bill McNeal and Max Louis; producer Lisa Miller; engineer Joe Garelli; secretary Beth; and the incompetent Matthew Brock, ostensibly a producer.
Series creator, Paul Simms gave the following reasons for the character names: Dave Nelson: I named this character Dave because I wrote it with no one else but Dave Foley in mind. Nelson is my mother's maiden name. It wasn't until after we'd shot the pilot that someone-many people, in fact-pointed out that Dave Nelson was the name of a character on "Ozzie and Harriet" or something. Bill McNeal: Like Dave, I wrote the part for Phil Hartman. I wanted something similar, but not identical to "Phil". "McNeal" is just something we came up with the first time we realized he needed a last name, and no two writers on the show spell it the same. Lisa Miller: I just liked the name Lisa. Jimmy James: Named after the first song on a Beastie Boys album. Beth: After the KISS song. She has no last name, or at least that's what she tells people. Catherine Duke: We wanted something regal sounding. Matthew Brock: This part, like Dave's and Bill's, was written for Andy Dick. I think my only reasoning with this name was that he seemed like the kind of guy who would insist on being called "Matthew" and not "Matt"--much as he often calls Dave "David" on the show. Joe Garelli: Before we cast Joe Rogan, the character was called "Rick", which was loosely based on Drake, which was the name of a writer I worked with on "Larry Sanders"--and who now works here at NewsRadio. I think after we cast Rogan, he was "Ted" for a day or two of rehearsal, and then we just decided "Joe" was easier.
NewsRadio suffered from middling ratings throughout its entire run, yet still managed to last nearly 100 episodes.
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