OLD Media Moves

Offering CNBC some advice

April 6, 2009

Marketwatch columnist Jon Friedman writes Monday, offering business news network CNBC five ways to get past its tumult during the first quarter.

Here is a sample:

1) Stress the news: Make sure its anchors dial down the glib quotient in the broadcasts. I don’t care how well the “Squawk Box” crew gets along or how bright and chirpy they are every morning. For instance, I want Joe Kernen to apply his wit and intelligence to analyzing the news and not going off on tangents. With the stock market in disarray, all I need to know is what’s going on in the news. Save the lighthearted chatter for the next bull market.

2) Focus on analysis: Journalists do their best work when they can explain what is going on — not only why things have happened, but what a news event means in the context of the times. CNBC, God knows, has the resources as well as the institutional knowledge to be a wonderfully reliable source for explanatory journalism. Instead of the banter that CNBC’s on-air stars often are regrettably known for, I want to hear these folks tell me not only why the big news event of the day is important, but also how it fits into patterns and trends.

Read more here.

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