When Joe proposes marriage to Catherine on the air in an episode of Newsradio, it was meant as a ridiculous stunt thought up by station owner Jimmy James to increase the ratings at the radio station.
The scene angered certain NBC executives. Why? Well, as it turned out, the meddling executives had made the same recommendation months earlier to increase ratings. (Apparently NBC's "Must See TV" was built on gimmicky weddings and babies.) The episode portrayed the proposal as a ridiculous, desperate idea dreamed up by a clueless executive. Apparently, the dig didn't go unnoticed by NBC's real life clueless executives.
