Dumbest TV Network of 2007?
The Street.com’s Nat Worden calls CNBC the Dumbest TV Network of 2007 for its Person of the Year thing…
All this brings us to the end of 2007, when audiences on Wall Street were subjected to CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo’s typically breathless declaration that “America’s Business Channel” disagrees with Time’s choice.
Instead of choosing a real person, General Electric’s (GE - Cramer’s Take - Stockpickr - Rating) business cable network opted to ape Time’s ill-fated 2006 effort when it chose “The American Homeowner” as its own alternative “Person of the Year,” in honor of the many struggling mortgage holders whose homes are declining in value and perhaps approaching foreclosure due to the bursting of the U.S. credit bubble. This, despite the fact that Bartiromo and her CNBC counterparts shrugged off the developing mortgage crisis as nonexistent for years.
Just as Time faced a looming threat from the rise of the Internet, CNBC faces its own threat from News Corp. (NWS - Cramer’s Take - Stockpickr - Rating), which has the cable network in its sights with the recent launch of the Fox Business Network and the bold acquisition of The Wall Street Journal. Fox’s new network has taken pains to steer clear of the Wall Street jargon found regularly on CNBC in an effort appeal to business-minded audiences in America’s heartland — the sort of people CNBC tried to appeal to with its own ridiculous choice for “Person of the Year.”
There’s one more item to this also, the people outright disagreed with CNBC’s choice and threw Steve Jobs their bone.
Comment by Chris — January 5, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
While many disagreed w/Time’s choice of Putin, there seemed to be a consensus that Gen. Petraeus should have received the award. Too bad CNBC didn’t feel that way; maybe they would have gained some credibility in re-inventing this “Person of the Year” idea.
Comment by Missy — January 5, 2008 @ 6:05 pm
A consensus amongst conservatives maybe.
Comment by Steve — January 5, 2008 @ 10:13 pm
Or among FOX News personalities/viewers…
Comment by Mike Beckham — January 5, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
What?
Comment by watchmen — January 7, 2008 @ 8:45 am