Posted on 03/09/2009 3:02:00 AM PDT by abb
Was last week the worst one in CNBC’s 20-year history — or the best?
The financial news network, a unit of NBC Universal, was savaged by “The Daily Show” in a viral video sensation. It was criticized for being too cozy with the corporations it covers. One of its stars, Jim Cramer, was ridiculed by the White House press secretary. And one of its reporters faced a new round of criticism for an on-air outburst about mortgage “losers.”
All the while, CNBC covered the incessant downward slide of the economy with special reports on particularly bad days for the markets. Mr. Cramer, the host of “Mad Money,” barely had time for his usual shuffleboard games at the Elk’s Lodge near his home.
The lodge “is a booyah-free zone,” he said, using his trademark exclamation. “I was not able to get away from the booyahs this week.”
Whether the attention is positive or negative, it is certain that this tumultuous financial season is CNBC’s reason for being. One month shy of its 20th anniversary, CNBC is being jokingly called “the recession network” within the halls of its headquarters in New Jersey.
After it achieved record ratings last fall, the network’s audience remains above its annual average average. But CNBC’s executives and hosts seem well aware that their ratings have traditionally stagnated in down times for the Dow. “People do not want to come to a show each night and hear how poor they are,” Mr. Cramer said.
But in a change from previous downturns, CNBC is now a place for politics, to borrow a phrase from its sister channel MSNBC. The network’s journalists have been encouraged to speak their minds, making the line between reporter and commentator almost indistinguishable at times.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
How dare someone on a TV show speak their opinion about Obama. Unless it’s about sharing tingles of course.
So, the LSM does know that there are tea party protests being held all across the country.
When discussing Obama last week Joe Kernan said he “fell for it.”
We won’t be on our way out of this recession/depression until CNBC ceases to exist in its present form.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/lists/rick-santelli-rant-030909
Five Moments in Economic Punditry Gone Horribly Wrong
They’ve got the chicks for sure.
Michelle C-C is definitely a VRWC member.
“When they are all sitting around the table it’s hard to tell a business pundit versus a reporter,” said Tom Rosenstiel, the director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
I guess MSNBC Obama pundits fall into “Excellence In Journalism”
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