Hustling guests and talent

Andrew Leckey, director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University, was interviewed Monday night on the Jim Lehrer Show about the Fox Business Network launch.

Here is an excerpt:

JEFFREY BROWN: Well, Fox was keeping it fairly secret as to what kind of programming they were going to have. So what you saw today was focusing — the difference was fun, that’s the biggest difference so far?

ANDREW LECKEY: So far, fun. And it’s obviously going to be a battle of the bookers of guests and eventually the agents representing talent on air, because everyone seems to be hustling now. We’re going to see a big difference, more scoops on business topics. We’re going to see more exclusives. It’s going to be a lot like what you may see on local news, where people are fighting to get ratings by doing something first and doing something different. And we haven’t had much of that in the past.

JEFFREY BROWN: You know, the rise of business news was often seen as connected to the rise of the number of Americans invested in the market, as more of us had our 401(k)s as opposed to traditional pensions. Is that still the case, in terms of the interests driving the interest in business news on television, in terms of who’s watching and what kinds of stories they’re being presented?

ANDREW LECKEY: A good indication of the fact that a broader audience is being sought is a particular point being made on the Fox Business channel to explain terms. For example, the term ADR, that might just be mentioned on CNBC in the past, is now mentioned as an American depositary receipt, and explain what it is. And similarly, I thought I noticed CNBC doing a little more definitions today, as well.

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