In general, she feels that to call TV, as Paddy Chayevsky did, ""democracy at its ugliest"" is to underestimate the viewer. She dubs TV ""paternalism at its slickest,"" and throughout her career refuses to talk down to the audience, that unknown quantity referred to around the offices as ""the plumber from Albuquerque."" (Something like The New Yorker's Little Old Lady from Dubuque?) Her colloquial style serves these stories well, and the hip wit that made her ideal for ""Not-ready-for-prime-time News"" is amply in evidence. Ellerbee's career has shown that TV news can be fun without being vapid; these behind-the-scenes anecdotes show that what didn't make it on the air was even funnier.