CNBC's coverage of Geithner plan lauded

Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik praises CNBC’s coverage of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s new bank bailout plan.

Zurawik writes, “Within 30 minutes of Geithner finishing his presentation, the NBC-owned channel had sweeping reaction from Wall Street (almost all of it thumbs-down), as well as the start of an exclusive interview with Geithner conducted by NBC anchorman Brian Williams and Steve Liesman, senior economics reporter for CNBC.

“I tuned in the noontime show, Power Lunch, primarily to see how Williams, who has been Mr. Softball lately in big-time interviews, handled his first shot at Geithner. For the record, the NBC newsman did okay. He was focused, forceful and asked most of the right questions, including one about whether or not Geither thought his own tax problems would undermine his efforts to get Americans to trust the banking system again.

“But Williams wasn’t what mattered today on CNBC. He was there mainly as big-foot window dressing.

“The real show involved the everyday producers, reporters and Power Lunch anchors who were all over the story — even if they were a little too quick to jump to wide-ranging conclusions that later had to be scaled back.”

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