Broadcast News was written by a man.
Broadcast News is a 1987 romantic comedy-drama film written , produced and directed by James L. Brooks . James Lawrence `` Jim '' Brooks ( born May 9 , 1940 ) is an Academy Award - , Emmy - and Peabody Award-winning American television and movie director , producer and screenwriter . After dropping out of New York University , he got a job as an usher at CBS , going on to write for the CBS News broadcasts . He hired cartoonist Matt Groening to create a series of shorts for the show , which eventually led to The Simpsons in 1989 .