Bartiromo: I now compete against CNBC

Jonathan Welsh of The Wall Street Journal interviewed Maria Bartiromo, who left CNBC last year and joined Fox Business Network earlier this year.

Here is an excerpt:

How did you spend your time off?

After leaving CNBC I was in a 60-day non-compete period, but I had to stay  involved, so I attended Governor Cuomo’s regional economic development conference and the holiday party at the White House. After that I probably should have made the decision to find a beach in the Caribbean. But it was time for the World Economic Forum. I’m a workaholic. I was able to fit in a trip to Milan and went hiking in Arizona with my husband.

Do you think you’ll be able to snag big names away from CNBC for interviews?

It is official now that I’m competing with CNBC. I was known for getting people on the show for interviews and that is the result of relationships that took years to develop. I worked so hard to get those guests and I’m very proud of my Rolodex.

Why did you leave CNBC? Was it just about money?

It wasn’t about money. CNBC’s offer was generous in all respects. But I was looking what would have been my fifth five-year deal with CNBC and it looked a lot like what I had been doing before. But audiences are changing. I felt pressure to give a bunch of five-minute segments but I think we were broadcasting to a community that isn’t there anymore – the day-trader community. It used to be all about the stock market but not anymore. I wanted an opportunity to use a different approach to engage the audience.

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