The reference to the character of Roger Thornhill

I think the reference to the character of Roger Thornhill, played by William Devane, WAS NOT "clearly a reference to Cary Grant's character, Roger O. Thornhill in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959)" as claimed in the Trivia section. Besides, I don't consider Roger O. Thornhill in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest to be a bad guy.
It's more likely a reference to the character, News Reporter Richard Thornburg played by William Atherton in "Die Hard", even though William Atherton played Stanton. I think they just switched which actor played the part or the characters to the other actor since William Atherton ended up playing the same type of jerk as the Die Hard news guy, Richard Thornburg. They didn't want to make too obvious, if you all get my drift.