Character Relationship Map: Network

Characters

• Diana Christensen (played by Faye Dunaway) — protagonist

  Diana Christensen is UBS’s programming chief, an ambitious executive who sees Howard Beale’s angry broadcasts as a ratings opportunity. She moves the news show into entertainment, develops sensational...

• Max Schumacher (played by William Holden) — protagonist

  Max Schumacher is the UBS news division president and Howard Beale’s longtime friend. He initially tries to give Beale a dignified farewell and opposes exploiting his outbursts, but loses his position...

• Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) — supporting

  Howard Beale is the longtime anchor of the UBS Evening News and the story’s central figure. After learning that his contract will end, he threatens suicide, then becomes a ratings sensation through an...

• Frank Hackett (played by Robert Duvall) — supporting

  Frank Hackett is a senior UBS executive who supports turning Howard Beale’s public breakdown into profitable entertainment. After Diana Christensen proposes reorganizing the news show, Hackett pressur...

• Arthur Jensen (played by Ned Beatty) — supporting

  Arthur Jensen is the chairman of Communications Corporation of America, UBS’s parent company. After Howard Beale attacks the planned Saudi takeover, Jensen meets with him and explains his vision of an...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Frank Hackett → Howard Beale (Professional Network Executive) — Frank helps manage Howard as a network property.

  Frank participates in the executive decisions surrounding Howard's format, its transfer to entertainment, and the plan to remove him.

• Arthur Jensen → Diana Christensen (Power Corporate Authority) — Arthur represents the higher corporate power governing Diana's workplace.

  Arthur is chairman of CCA, the parent company of UBS, while Diana is a UBS programming executive whose decisions are constrained by the network's corp...

• Arthur Jensen → Howard Beale (Power Ideological Controller) — Arthur replaces Howard's populist message with corporate ideology.

  Arthur meets Howard, scolds him, and persuades him to abandon his anti-merger message for a gospel serving Jensen's interests.

• Diana Christensen → Frank Hackett (Professional Subordinate) — Diana works within Frank's corporate hierarchy while influencing his decisions.

  Diana persuades Frank to move the evening news show under the entertainment division so she can develop it.

• Frank Hackett → Max Schumacher (Professional Superior) — Frank uses executive authority to remove Max from his position.

  Frank bullies UBS executives into consenting to the programming change and fires Max.

• Diana Christensen → Howard Beale (Professional Show Developer) — Diana transforms Howard's on-air outbursts into a major entertainment program.

  Diana reaches out to Max with an offer to help develop Howard's show and later develops The Howard Beale Show.

• Diana Christensen → Max Schumacher (Romantic Partner) — Their affair becomes a major personal and professional relationship.

  Diana offers to help develop Howard's show, Max rejects the professional proposal but accepts her personal pitch, and they begin an affair.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Max Schumacher → Howard Beale (Social Friend) — A long-standing friendship connects Max to Howard and motivates Max to protect his dignity.

  Max is explicitly described as Howard's friend and informs him that he has only two weeks left on the air.

Story Analysis

A television network converts public anger into profitable spectacle, then destroys its own broadcaster when his message threatens corporate power.

Plot Progression

1. The Anchor Faces Oblivion — Howard learns that declining ratings will end his career and makes a shocking suicide announcement. His subsequent on-air rant unexpectedly turns him into a ratings phenomenon.
2. Ratings Become A Commodity — Diana sees commercial potential in Howard's outbursts and approaches Max. Their personal affair develops alongside a struggle over whether Howard's angry format should continue.
3. The Mad Prophet Rises — Diana and Frank move the news show into entertainment and remove Max. Howard becomes a celebrity broadcaster whose angry populism produces the network's highest ratings.
4. Corporate Reality Intervenes — Diana pursues a sensational deal with the ELA while Howard attacks the proposed CCA buyout. Arthur Jensen confronts Howard and redirects his message toward corporate globalism.
5. A Man Killed For Ratings — Howard's new sermons drive audiences away, but Jensen refuses to remove him. Diana, Frank, and the executives hire the ELA to kill Howard on air, allowing the replacement program to begin.