Berr: Bartiromo should be fired

Jonathan Berr, the editor of desperateinvestors.com, calls Friday for CNBC to fire Maria Bartiromo because of her close relationships with sources.

Berr, a former reporter for Bloomberg News and TheStreet.com, wrote, “Maria Bartiromo, who rose to fame as CNBC’s Money Honey during the bull market of the 90s, should be fired for showing incredible lapses in judgment regarding her relationship with ousted Citigroup Inc. executive Todd Thomson.

“One of the cardinal rules of journalism is that you aren’t supposed to write about or show favor toward your friends. The Wall Street Journal’s (subscription required) expose of Bartiromo’s relationship with Thomson shows that they were at a minimum buddies.

“What’s more disturbing, however, is CNBC’s reluctance to look into the matter further. I’d like to know if CNBC ever reimbursed Citigroup for Bartiromo’s air travel. Moreover, doesn’t the channel’s corporate owner General Electric Co. have an ethics rule or two about employes accepting gratuities from clients? Citigroup, after all, does buy advertising on CNBC.”

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