Bartiromo’s departure makes others at CNBC happy

Joe Weisenthal of Business Insider writes Thursday about the mood at business news network CNBC in the wake of the departure of anchor Maria Bartiromo last week.

Weisenthal writes, “One person who was at CNBC headquarters the day after Bartiromo’s departure actually described a widespread sense of ‘relief.’

“It’s not that Bartiromo was disliked.  It’s that CNBC, according to multiple sources, is an insanely competitive place internally, especially with respect to booking guests. And Bartiromo often had a lock on the best guests, leaving other reporters, anchors, and producers out in the cold.

“One person familiar with the workings of CNBC, when asked about the environment, responded via email: ‘CNBC is SO COMPETITIVE ABOUT BOOKINGS. So much so that it always spilled over to infighting between shows.’

“Another former on-air personality at CNBC described constant head-butts with Bartiromo over guests, and told us that well-known guests have complained about how if they ever went on another show on CNBC they would get angry phone calls about it.

“So basically, in an environment where everyone is extremely territorial about their guests, the departure of the network’s most famous name frees up a lot of booking chances. It also frees up money — Bartiromo’s hefty salary — that CNBC can now invest in other on-air talent.