NewsRadio

As the new News Director at New York's WNYX radio, Dave Nelson is ready for his first day on the job. But there's just one problem -- station owner Jimmy James has yet to fire Ed Harlow, the man Dave has been hired to replace. According to Jimmy, that's Dave's first job. To make matters worse, Jimmy has not told anyone on the staff that Dave is their new boss as he proceeds to introduce him as the station's new sports reporter. As he looks for a way to break the news to Ed, Dave meets the rest of the WNYX news team, and quickly realizes what's in store for him. First of all, the station's news anchors, Bill and Catherine, are locked in a power struggle that threatens to paralyze the newsroom. Then there's Lisa Miller, a reporter and the hardest working member of the staff, who thinks she is about to be named news director. Meanwhile, as Jimmy heads off to look into his latest business venture, Dave discovers that Ed is highly sensitive to any bad news. However, when Ed suddenly quits, Dave thinks he is off the hook. However, Dave's relief is just temporary. It seems that Ed quits several times each week, only to be back at work soon thereafter. After witnessing an argument between Ed and the station's new ace reporter, Matthew, Dave decides he has to tell someone the truth. But, even after swearing Matthew to secrecy, Dave soon finds that the entire WNYX staff is waiting for him to make his move. Before dealing with Ed, Dave saves Lisa some embarrassment by announcing to everyone that he was hired only after she turned own the job first. Unable to continue the ruse any longer, Dave finally breaks the news to Ed before making it very clear to everyone else that he is now in charge.

In the wake of Matthew's inappropriate, and obscene, pronunciation of a name in the news, Dave must try to limit the damage. Yet, much to his chagrin, Lisa takes charge and suggests an on-air apology before Dave has had a chance to react. And despite the possibility of a lawsuit, Jimmy is delighted with the mistake and hopes he can sell tapes of the error to collectors. However, after he asserts his seniority, Lisa convinces Dave to join her for dinner to discuss the matter. When Beth notices them acting strangely the following morning at work, Dave admits to having spent part of the evening making out with Lisa. Though Beth pledges to keep their little affair a secret, she warns Dave that he and Lisa are bound to have a confrontation which will alert everyone. Agreeing that an affair is unprofessional, Dave and Lisa just can't keep it from escalating even further. Meanwhile, Bill persists in trying to convince Catherine to join him for a date, while Matthew is convinced he's being fired as a result of his on-air mistake. Realizing that Lisa and Dave have gone on to have sex, Beth reaffirms her earlier warning. As Bill tries to enlist them into coaxing Catherine to join him for lunch, Lisa and Dave pledge to nip their affair in the bud once and for all, only to end up making love on his office couch. Finally, after deciding their only choice is to keep the romance a secret, Dave learns the reason behind Catherine and Bill's tense relationship -- their own inter-office affair four years ago.

In compliance with a new state law, Dave announces that the station is now officially a no-smoking office. News of the ban doesn't sit well with Bill, who claims that cigarettes are the key to his radio voice. And when he discovers a provision in the law allowing a special smoking area, Bill insists that Dave comply. When this idea proves impractical, Dave decides to inspire Bill to quit and ends up offering to give up coffee if Bill gives up smoking. Meanwhile, Lisa worries about her affair with Dave being exposed after Joe sees them at the movies together. Upon arriving at the station to find Dave in a trance and Bill coughing his way through the news broadcast, Jimmy takes action himself, popping a cigarette in Bill's mouth and immediately improving his performance. However, when Dave plucks the cigarette from his mouth, Bill suddenly reverts back to coughing. Dave then gives him some nicotine patches prescribed by his doctor, and Bill gets relief from his craving -- unaware that using them without medical supervision has serious side effects. With Bill in the hospital, Jimmy demands that Dave start drinking coffee after telling him it's decaffeinated -- even though it isn't! Confronting Joe about their encounter at the theater, Lisa learns he is more concerned about his being seen there with a gay man than seeing her with someone in a stupid-looking hat. Finally, Dave solves his problem by sealing off the broadcast booth so that Bill and Catherine can do their show enveloped in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

Only two weeks into his new job, Dave is facing his first big news crisis. A fire has stranded a subway train between stations, leaving its 35 passengers in the dark and smoky tunnel. Though Bill suggests sticking with the station's usual approach of periodic updates with little information, Dave has other ideas. He wants to be the first station to have a reporter inside the tunnel for an eyewitness account of the rescue. There's just one problem -- the transit commission has never allowed anyone in a tunnel during an emergency. Then another problem throws a wrench into the works -- the delivery of Matthew's new desk, a purchase that was approved by Dave. While trying his best to get the transit commissioner to approve his request, Dave must fend off an endless stream of complaints by the rest of the staff about their not getting new desks, too. After Jimmy arrives with a friend to watch the staff operate during a crisis, Dave makes matters worse when he lets slip that he approved the new desk over a dinner Taking Matthew with him, Dave heads for the transit commissioner's office to see about getting access to the stalled train. Even though the commissioner refuses to even meet with him, Dave manages to steal a tunnel pass for Matthew. However, upon returning to work, Dave is shocked to find that Jimmy has authorized new desks for everyone. Taking the station owner aside, Dave then complains about undercutting his authority in the newsroom and insists on sending the new desks back at once. Meanwhile, at the disaster scene, Matthew finds it too dark and smoky to see much of anything. Finally, Dave's insistence on returning the new desks causes one last problem when the movers take the old ones, too, leaving the station without any office furniture at all.

The Big Day when Jimmy hands out the annual bonuses has arrived. And after he's cautioned against having an affair with anyone at work, and particularly Lisa, Dave is saddled with the responsibility of deciding this year's bonuses. Explaining how he motivates with paranoia and fear, Jimmy says that everyone should get $400 except for two. One gets "the big bonus" of $3,000, while the other gets "the shaft, " or nothing. Not wanting to be "shafted" for the fourth year in a row, Matthew pleads his case with Dave, while Lisa is convinced she's getting the big bonus to make up for not being made news director. Dave suggests that no one get "the shaft" this year. But Jimmy won't accept any changes in the policy and offers to take full responsibility for whatever Dave decides. However, when Lisa accidentally finds his list of who's getting what, she discovers that she isn't the only candidate for the big bonus. Upset over Dave keeping his role a secret, Lisa then offers to keep quiet about what she's found -- -- in exchange for the $3,000! Realizing that things have gotten out of hand, Dave calls a staff meeting and suggests pooling all the bonus money to give everyone an equal share. What he finds is that everyone is willing to take their chances with his decision, as each of them certain they're the one getting the $3,000. Seeing how to manipulate the situation to her advantage, Catherine claims she doesn't care one way or the other and ends up with the big bonus, while Dave gives himself "the shaft" to make everyone else feel guilty. However, Dave soon realizes that not recognizing Joe can mean real problems for the station.

As Dave and Lisa struggle to keep their own romance a secret, another potential inter-office relationship arises when Bill invites Beth to the Annual Broadcaster's Luncheon. While Beth believes him when he says the invitation comes with no strings attached, no one else in the office does. And when Bill asks her to wear the revealing dress she wore at their last Christmas party, even Beth begins to suspect things are getting out of hand. With Dave facing a $6,000 budget shortfall, Lisa quietly suggests taking a look at Matthew's phone bill. Caught making personal long distance calls on the office phone, Matthew then points to Catherine's corporate account at an expensive hair salon. Meanwhile, Bill insists that their luncheon date is harmless and that he thinks of Beth as a daughter. But, after a few glasses of champagne, it isn't Bill but Beth who makes an unsolicited advance. However it's not the kiss that gets Dave's attention. Rather, it's Beth's 93 magazine subscriptions on the company account and the chauffeured limousine Bill hired for the luncheon. As a result of the unsolicited kiss, Bill is in a state of shock, especially once everyone in the office knows what happened. After listening to Beth explain how she was simply swept away by the moment, Bill hesitatingly accepts her apology, but insists that the two of them never be left alone in the same room anymore. Finally, when Dave's investigation of the budget leads him to question Jimmy's use of a helicopter to fly home and play with his dogs at lunch, the owner's solution is simple -- increase the budget for fuel.